Denied By Grace
by Sombereyes
Summary: Belldandy's prayer reaches up to the heavens, but they do not grant her wish to the letter. Instead, they send her on a new path, gifting her a fleeting human life. The trials may prove harder than she first assumed, but, with Keiichi at her side, she may just find enlightenment yet.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the second in the branching paths story arcs. In this story arc, we follow a different possible reality…and that's the reality where Belldandy turns into a mortal woman, unable to use her powers. Here we look at the implications behind sharing a mortal life, in every aspect of mortality. This is a sequel to "Divinity's Prayer" so you have to read that one first, for this to make any sort of sense.

This is what I would assume to be the "most cannon" theory (note gigantic air quotes, because who the hell really knows) out of the three story arcs. I'm taking great care with this fiction. Updates will probably be slow, when compared to "A Devil's Redemption". The reason for that is because "A Devil's Redemption" is merely an excuse to fart around with the Ah, My Goddess characters and themes. While this is a good, honest attempt, at trying to understand the universe on a more complex level, and also add depth to the heavens that so controls the universe.

Anyway, I hope this first chapter finds you well, and that you all find it a joy to read. I have no idea when I will have chapter two ready for your reading pleasure, but it shouldn't be too long of a wait.

I do not own Ah, My Goddess/Oh, My Goddess. We should all be thankful.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_I knew there would come a time, foretold by prophecy, when I would reach adulthood. That I would become as beautiful as my sisters. Unfortunately, I didn't know when that time would come. In my youth, I awaited that day, and now that it has befallen me, I too, may pen passages inside of this book. Maybe that seems insignificant, but, well, it's unbelievably important to me. _

_This paper is little more than a gift from the world tree. Born from its bark, bound by sap, and unharmed by time. It's just old and useless to most people. Buried deeply within the catacombs of Urd's well, it has not seen the light of day since the dawn of creation itself. Since she is the goddess of the past, it seems only fitting that her soul would hide this most precious treasure. It makes even more sense to me, that this book cannot merely be opened by just anyone._

_The goddess of the present, Belldandy, must have placed a seal over it, because only we three have the ability to open it by ourselves. Anyone else who desires to read the omens within, must be given the gift of her very breath upon the wind. Only Belldandy's voice, carried through the ages, may beg the book to open to the hands of others unlike ourselves. These scriptures, are little more than a relic of time itself. Whispers that just don't belong anyplace else._

_ That's strange, because gods and goddesses, such as myself, pour our hearts onto these pages so that light may shine on, anew. In the darkest of nights, in the most solemn hours, these pages await visitors who so seek them. It begs the question, what is this book? Why does it really exist? Lastly, who really cares about the stuff written here? It's just a book._

_One that is both begs to be seen, and yet, refuses to be opened…_

_I think, I'm old enough now, that I finally understand the answer. It is the past we willingly cast aside, it is the present we hopelessly cling onto, and it is the emptiness of the pages that have yet to be filled. It is for those who reach for the future. It is for those who keep faith, that every step will be one with meaning. It is, lastly, to spin the tales of time, and cradle them forever within creation's web. Protected by the very tree that birthed it, and we three who frolic here in this most sacred place. The Norn's sanctuary._

_At least, I pray that is the truth._

- _ Skuld, the book keeper._

She wanted to give him the sweetest of caresses, to rest her forehead against his, and mutter sweet nothings. The little meaningless words filled her soul with such profound emotion. Like droplets of water, among the driest desert, she was thirst for rain. It was funny that something so simple could draw her in, when she was a woman of the heavens. She found that she didn't care about the world beyond the stars, so out of reach.

Instead, she found herself at a loss that was almost stifling. Her predicament was simple, and yet, it felt as if she would never find a remedy. Keiichi was not the god she so required him to be, and reluctantly she had to admit the truth. She was no mere mortal either. They were unified, and yet, so far apart, that although they could touch, they would never become one.

It was not within their nature as goddess and human.

She could indeed make a human looking shell to cover her real form, but, that was simply code. Merely an illusion, and one that was exceedingly necessary if she wanted to have any contact with humans at all. Even making love to him was far more for his benefit, and his personal state of being. She was a divine entity, and as such, she could not understand his whims as a mortal. The world in which she lived, was not tangible to her. She knew nothing of mortal illness, or of human struggle.

She watched this man live on his planet, but, it was little more than a tiny little piece of creation to her people.

She knew that. Accepted that, and, welcomed the utmost struggle of the deepest kind. She was the being that simply didn't belong. She could not lie, could not sin as the mortals did. She was placed on a pedestal for her perfections, but, that only distanced her more. She could not reach Keiichi, could not embrace a soul that was so unlike hers.

He would never understand the true needs of a goddess while in his mortal form, nor could he fulfill her requirements…and she had many, seeing as she was indeed, a goddess, unable to merely be comforted by such a world. That's why she uttered those words. Words that nearly cast her into a world of domination…words that slipped past her lips, begging of her dire needs.

"Keiichi..." She breathed, leaning in to kiss him atop his forehead. "I'm sorry I'm not a mortal woman...but, in spite of that, I wish that you could be a god."

Belldandy's prayer was lifted to the heavens on high, her fellow gods and goddesses hearing her plea and sending it to great heights. Further up the chain of command it went, until finally, the prayer was received by the one man who might have been able to make a difference. Tyr shook his head and sighed. What she asked was pure lunacy at its finest, because while it would be amusing to make Keiichi a god, the idea tickling his amusement even now…it simply wasn't a good idea.

Mortals were mortals…and they would never be fit as a divine being. That didn't mean, of course, that he didn't approve of Keiichi. In fact, the little mortal astounded him. He was, for all intents and purposes, a good man. A reasonable man. Human, and, thusly a little wet behind the ears. Still, he had earned a wish of the heavens, and used that wish to gain immense power without even meaning to. There wasn't any other mortal that could so easily sway a goddess...or three at that.

That was a gift that Keiichi had been born with. The heavens had been attracted to him since his youth.

Be all of that as it may, however, it was far more complicated than his daughter understood. She was a young goddess, after all…far too young to fully grasp the depth of her words. It troubled Tyr, who sat on his throne among the heavenly council. "Bearing witness to these events, you can see my trouble." The god spoke to his peers, hoping to find a swift resolution. "You can see, my deepest lament."

"What are you waiting for, Tyr." Odin, one of the oldest gods in the room, and also one of the most battle worn, sighed great at length. "My son, do you not see the gift that has been given to you." The man lacked one eye, but had a world of wisdom in the one that remained. "I would partake of the good fortune that our guiding star offers. You'll never know when such a blessing will come again. There should be no confusion here."

"This from a prophet." An annoyed sigh came from the other side of the room. "Leave it to the clan of the Norse, not to mention a wrinkled old fogy at that!" Ares, a war god, shouted indignantly. His great ire already provoked from the prayer of a mere goddess. "Women should be seen, not heard." He wouldn't let it come to pass. "Though I doubt she is even that much as of yet."

"Silence, you insolent fool." Tyr hissed from between clenched teeth. "That's my daughter upon which you speak. Don't proclaim to take her name in vain."

"Stand down, Tyr." Mars growled, another war god. An aggressive one at that. "I'm sure my Greek brethren means you no harm. He simply lacks the sight to see beyond his nose."

"The little whelp knows not of his place." Ares muttered, loud enough to be heard. "Nor does his daughter."

"Bite your tongue." Tyr groused, unwilling to stand down.

"I'll smite you boys where you stand!" Mars stood, standing before the two young gods. They didn't have the years of life required to understand their positions.

"No need, I assure you." Zeus agreed with Ares's assessment to a small degree, but even so, it wasn't called for. He turned to his son. "Don't disregard your betters, my boy, you've not yet the years on you to speak so forthrightly, Ares." He looked to the council, bowing deeply. "Forgive my son, he lacks the platitudes required of his stature. This is a mere oversight on my behalf. I claim liability."

"Perhaps, if that is indeed the case, you should see to it that he learns his place among this court, Zeus." A woman named Juno spoke coolly. "If only his mother, well respected as she is, were to hear such words. She would be baffled if not insulted." With a shake of her head, she looked around the room, several other goddesses were also outraged, and she found herself at a loss. "Perhaps it would be best to have Hera reclaim her place at your side, it seems your boy is unfit for the task, such a shame."

"Well, they are merely boys after all." A feline goddess smirked from her spot, lazing over her railing, flicking her eyes about. She was the goddess Bastet, and she was a stunningly feral creature by nature. Beautiful and cunning. She so often chose to prance around as the huntress that she was. "Little cubs without a pedigree, if I do say so myself. Still, they're viral enough, we just might make them real men of the council yet."

"If not, we would be all too happy to teach them the ways of a real woman." Juno smirked. "Isn't that right, ladies?"

"From your mouth, to Almighty's ears, Juno." Aphrodite agreed with a good nature. "Though truth be told, I need god in my life that can take the heat." She leaned forward, letting her playful eyes glimmer at the two young gods before them. "Though I do think it would be cute to make a mess of them."

Mars simply rolled his eyes. There was no containing the elder goddesses who held such a high rank, especially when his own mother, Juno, seemed to spearhead the charge. Instead, he merely coughed, giving a hint to his discomfiture as he bristled. The rather intriguing notion of just what Aphrodite seemed to imply, mixed with what her hand was doing beneath his robes, would make any lesser god melt into a pile of goo. He kept quiet, enjoying the risqué attention to his person.

"They'd make fine toys, if little else." Bastet said with a smile. "Now then, if the young bloods in the room care to simmer down, we have other matters to attend to, unless of course, they want to test our skill."

Rightfully, Tyr and Ares gulped and sat down in their places, making Juno smirk. "There now, children, was that so hard?"

This time, it was Zeus and Odin who shared a troubled look. They both silently agreed, that sometimes, the women of the council were just too much. "Let's cast transgression aside, shall we?" Odin said calmly, stroking his long beard as he contemplated the string of events that so troubled the court. "It wouldn't do to have such a tiff over something as trite as where we hail from. Creation is ours as a unity, don't forget."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Zeus nodded, giving Ares a glare, warning his young, often brash son, to keep his tongue in his mouth. "Let us begin." His eyes fell over to Norse area of the council room. "Tyr, son of Odin, father to Belldandy, you have come to us elders seeking guidance on the young goddess's behalf." His voice rumbled evenly, his words that wisdom and courage. "You may have the floor, uninterrupted. Speak candidly and forthrightly, of your plea."

Tyr might have had high standing, but, among this council, he was merely a child himself, still trying to attain the greatness of his father before him. Standing among hundreds of deities to plead a case was far more befuddling than he cared to admit. His wife, Anzasu stood at his side, a tiny momentary comfort, if little else.

"Do not fear, Tyr." She murmured to him, her foresight uncanny. "It is for the best, I promise."

He looked over to her, a woman dressed in the finest of silks. Their youngest took after her in looks, he knew. While Belldandy took after him in heart and soul. It was with that knowledge that he stood on two shaky legs, looking out among the masses. "My fellow gods and goddesses, lords and deities, faiths and spirits, it is my wish to see my child happy. To see her sweet smile stay lit, and I fear these heavens could never grant her such joy at this time."

"Whatever do you mean, Tyr?" Frigga, who was often quiet during council, could not be silent after seeing her son so troubled. "My dear boy, I had no idea." She murmured, feeling her heart sink when she saw the look in his eyes. "What troubles my granddaughter so?"

"Her time spent here in heaven, has been spent alone. She longed over a convicted man, her tutor. You all remember the debacle well, of that, I'm sure." Tyr reported.

"We know well, perhaps too well." Zeus nodded. "Continue."

"She was a figment of her former self before she went to earth. Now, her heart doesn't seek blindly in the darkness, because her soul has found light within a mortal man." Tyr was greatly bothered by this, clutching at railings in front of him, to keep his tears from his spectators. "I fear, so greatly, to take her from that joy, which so gifts light into her heart. Earth has made her grow more vibrant than ever, and I am unsure as her father, what conclusion I should make of this."

Zeus simply chuckled. "You make the boy a god, it is that simple."

"So says the father of an ill-bred son…" The goddess Minerva spoke, her voice as soft as a wind caressing a willow tree. She was wise, kind yet soft, as shoulders gave perch owls that hooted quietly at her offering of seed and fruit. "Zeus, I'm sure that you speak with love for Hercules, in your heart. I also foresee, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that your kin would agree with me, when I say, your words of courage are indeed misplaced." Then as she held out her hand to greet another one of her birds, she offered a sad smile to Tyr. "I am sure if you were to beg elders who govern over creation's wisdom, they would bespeak the same."

"What shall I do?" Tyr begged.

Minerva sighed. Tyr was also a god who was destined to hold wisdom in the palms of his hands, yet, he seemed so lost…as if even his courage dwindled. It was a sad sight to see. "Athena is not in court today, but, I know my sister deity well. Even the great Odin, who sired you, Tyr, would understand that is a journey for young Belldandy." She looked among the room, and simply offered a gentle smile. "The goddesses among us, have hearts that patter away. They should understand perfectly of your daughter's plight."

"I could not have spoken it better, and yet, you are a virgin." Another voice called out. "My conquests must have deceived me, or your legs have been spread, I'm unsure which." Aphrodite laughed with good nature, truly tickled by Minerva's words. "Your foresight amazes me even now, such a goddess, what gull indeed." The goddess of love smiled brilliantly, her voice of silk taking great humor in the words that had echoed through the halls. "With a nod, she stood. "Yes, I agree, it is a gift cast into the ocean of her soul. Now, Belldandy must rise above the tides and find herself." She nodded to Belldandy's father. "Tyr, it is not her time to return to the heavens, not yet."

Bastet purred at that. "It is Belldandy's time to learn what it means to be a woman." The catlike goddess proclaimed. "She is in her youth, and her heart stammers to feel the pulse that she can't have here, in the heavens." If she wasn't so fond of her catlike form, with its predatory gaze, she too, likely would have smiled in her agreement. Instead, it was merely a flick of her tail that spoke of her conviction on the matter. "Your little Belldandy covets so fully the embrace of another, ironic that it is mortal man."

"Then, the answer is simple." Juno replied, with a sigh. "Tyr, every goddess goes through a stage of longing and desire. Some of us are fated never to feel the touch of love, and such goddesses are scored to be labeled virgins forever. Others are fated to fall from good grace, never to return." She offered him a simple nod, trying to gift solace. "However, these are paths we goddesses must walk ourselves, and Belldandy has chosen hers."

Minerva nodded. "We should not deny her."

Frigga found herself in tears, and she too, nodded her head. She understood the pangs of a woman's heart. "Odin…" She whispers to her husband. "Bless our granddaughter her truest wish. Please, I beg of thee, look into the true meaning of her wish. Please, do not insist that it be granted by the letter."

Odin was quiet, as he continued to stroke his beard in quiet contemplation. He looked to his son, whom he'd raised to the best of his ability. He glanced to Anzasu, and closed his eyes. He tried to think of the mortal man as a god, with Belldandy at his side. Odin sighed, he could not see it. He could foresee happiness as the young one were now. They had a world of growing to do. If Keiichi were to be a god, it would not be now.

"The answer is quite simple." Odin finally said with a nod. "Belldandy should become that of a human, live her life, learn and grow, love and lose." He nodded to Tyr. "In this, my son, she will gain insight. She will be a better goddess upon returning to us, if she lives and dies as a mortal just once."

…

It was only after plenty of fighting, that a decision had been made. He prayed dearly that his daughter would understand the decision made on her behalf. Still, as he waited for one of the goddesses to meet him in his personal chambers, he could not help but find himself befuddled.

_What she fails to realize, is that if I were to make Keiichi a god, he would not be the same man. _He thought to himself bitterly. He would have to purge from Keiichi his mortal sins, his earthly darkness's, and his worldly desires. Most of those things were what made the mortal, Keiichi, the man that he was. Tyr could easily purge them from the boy without a second thought…however, it wasn't a gratifying thing to ponder. _Oh, my daughter, my poor, poor daughter. You do not know what you seek. You are brazen to beg of this heart's desire, when you are so young._ It forced a faint smile from him. "Oh, this love of hers is troublesome."

"You were the same, when made love to Hild, were you not?" Anzasu replied coolly, coming to stand at her husband's side. She knew what troubled him so, but, Keiichi was not Hild. Keiichi had stepped through the gate with his heart so fully devoted to the goddess that treasured him. "I understand how you struggle, but Tyr, you must allow this without complaint. Belldandy has her own life to lead. She will return, one day."

"If this is the answer gifted, I almost desire to follow the letter of her wish. I want to make him a god." Tyr's voice became thick, and he sighed out deeply, before he lost to his emotions. "I know it would not give her the time that she needs with him as a mortal, but, it would comfort me greatly."

If he was so weak, he knew he would only scorn his child. The god he would inadvertently make, would not be the shy and mild mannered man that Belldandy loved. He would not be the Keiichi that had earned his wish by overcoming his great many trials. In fact, Tyr feared for the real truth of the matter. Keiichi would make a fine god. A forthright, honest, and very powerful god…but, Tyr doubted that Keiichi would also keep the humbled nature that kept him innocent as a mortal.

No…making him a god would gift more spite than Belldandy knew…one day, maybe it would be befitting to make him deity, yet, now was that time.

It would lead to a troublesome reality, because there were so many unknown factors…too many unknowns at that. Yet, his heart ached, to lose a goddess, to put a mortal woman in her place…well, that was even worse. Even more ludicrous than anything else he could conjure in his mind. He sighed under his breath…the council, even his own father, had spoken this lunacy.

A knock came to the door, and he looked to his wife. "I would like some tea." He told her.

She nodded, and put her hand on his shoulder as he trembled upon his throne. "Yes dearest." She murmured to him, giving it a gentle squeeze. "She will be alright." Anzasu whispered before going off to fetch nourishment. Deep down, she knew it was just a ploy to shoo her from the room, but, she followed his wishes, just this once without arguing.

"Come in, Peorth." He called for her.

"What will you have me do regarding this matter?" Peorth asked, awaiting his instruction, as she bowed to him.

"You shall bespeak my judgment, and make it known." Tyr ordered, angry more at himself, than at his child. "It doesn't comfort me, to cast my own blood aside, but, I will do so now. I must, for her own wellbeing." He didn't show his emotion, didn't allow himself to weep, and instead, he cursed himself on the inside. "You are to travel to that forsaken planet that she holds dear, and you must give her one last option…one final choice."

He flipped a cartridge into the air, and Peorth took it within her hands. He continued at length. "She shall either become a mortal herself, sharing in their ultimate fate, and facing their mortal struggles…or she may remain a goddess." He perched his head in one of his palms, quite discontented. "If, by chance, she chooses to remain the goddess that she is, she must return to heaven without delay."

Peorth swallowed hard. "Sir, she is a Norn. We require Belldandy to remain a goddess, and to protect the world tree." Peorth replied worriedly. "Without her, we have no present."

"This is only temporary." Tyr said then, grateful for that fact. "Once Belldandy dies in a mortal life, we will simply apprehend her spirit, and reverse the code back to the way it should be."

"In the meantime, we still need three Norns." Peorth replied, speaking only truth.

He looked to Peorth, nodding a bit. "You too, govern time loosely. Your skills are to provide support to the Norns that so need you. You exist purely in case a Norn does not…heaven's failsafe, Peorth, was your reason to be born. That time may be now, and you will answer the call."

"Sir, I can't do that." Peorth said, worried that he might actually do just as he said, and amend her programming.

"You will do exactly what I order you to do!" Tyr bellowed, before sighing out his frustrations. "If Belldandy finds a love that she is incompatible with, you know what will happen to her…the poison that will flow through her like a dark, and murky catacomb…" He berated the young first class goddess before him "You know, Peorth, just what that would mean."

Unwilling to provoke Tyr's ire more, she bowed to him. "I do." Of course Peorth knew what happened. When a goddess was unable to commune with the one she loved, she became very ill. "I know all too well what Belldandy may face, sir, but I also know she is strong." It was little more than a slow, agonizing death…and one Peorth wished upon no one.

"A dead goddess, is a worthless goddess." Tyr told Peorth. "I do not require uselessness." Tyr was Belldandy's father…and she was the favored child that he took the greatest pride in…he would not see her lost to the depths of her own heart…he would not watch her die slowly over hundreds, if not thousands of years…and he would not relive the horror of her younger years either. He could not deal with seeing his child in such a way ever again. "Please, try to understand my plight." He told Peorth. "What I do, I do out of a father's love."

She dared not look up to him, and merely nodded her understand of the situation. Unable to discern this rapid and discomforting chain of events, or where it might lead her, she instead dismissed herself. Knowing he wanted an expedient answer, and being able to provide it was a difficult task. Truth be told, she simply couldn't barge in on the occupants of the shrine and hope to plop this information into their laps.

The first class goddess Belldandy, was often an unstable, quivering soul, because for a goddess she was young. They all were.

Peorth felt her blood boil, unsure of herself, and her orders. As she flipped on a monitor to gauge just what sort of situation she would find on the other end of that screen, she feared the worst. As usual, it was a good morning, though the shrine seemed to find itself dilapidated, and in a state of ill repair that would have made even Lind's handiwork seem like perfection in comparison. She opened up another monitor where the sky view showed Urd and Skuld sharing in a heated, yet playful fight.

Finally she received some interesting banter from the live feed as she found her target via Yggdrasil and the surveillance system. Peorth searched the screen, looking for any abnormalities, as Belldandy seemed to banter on with Keiichi. It was one of their usually good natured conversations. Belldandy seemed to be in a good mood, as she put together some sort of notebook that had been ripped to shreds by a magical ball that Urd had flung. Keiichi thanked her, and they fawned over each other a moment more.

Peorth shook her head…the couple could be sickeningly sweet when they wanted to be.

Keiichi's smile stayed on his face, as he hid away the notebook in his backpack. Peorth concluded that it had to have been some sort of homework, from what Keiichi called university. She digressed it, it wasn't her concern. As soon as she saw another ball of Urd's energy fly right towards the couple, she held her breath. Thankfully, Belldandy easily deflected it.

"Urd, really, so insufferable sometimes." Peorth muttered as she reinforced the camera. Any more magic, and she'd loose her video feed. It was bad enough Peorth lost the sound, though she noticed that Belldandy seemed to be yelling something up to the fighting sisters, before seeing Keiichi off. "No use I guess." Peorth sighed. She'd have to observe from earth, and that was merely that. "Now then, onward, I suppose." She produced another camera lens so that she could simply step through with ease.

Though, she was unsure just what her observations would tell her, knew it wouldn't be anything good.

…

"Belldandy, what are you doing?" Keiichi chuckled as he leaned over her shoulder. Catching sight of the goddess who saw fit to try and build the newest racing bike that the auto club insisted to make.

"Just tinkering." She said with a small laugh, looking up to him. "I was wondering if we could coax a few more horsepower out of it." She knew now, that it simply wasn't possible, and she cleared her hands of the oil that caked them. "It would be nice to leave behind something, so that the new members understand the great joy we take in everything we build."

"Yeah." Keiichi nodded at that. "I guess I can see what you mean." It pulled a grin from him. "I'm really graduating at the end of the month, aren't I?" It made him swallow hard, the feeling was overwhelming. "Yeah, it's uh, a bit nuts when you think about it." He fell backward onto the gravel. "Aw, Bell it's been amazing. I almost wonder what else waits for me after all that. Do I go back and try to get my masters, or do I just find a full time job?" He asked rhetorically, resting his head on his hands. "There's so many things to think about."

"Yes, I suppose there is." Belldandy replied, as she cleaned the tools she used. "Keiichi, if I were you, I wouldn't rush." Even without the clouds mucking up the sky, she was sure that it would have seemed sad for Keiichi. Nostalgic and distant. "There's still some time."

"A month goes by fast when you're looking for a full time job." Keiichi shrugged. "Hanging out with the auto club, and working with Chihiro kind of puts things into perspective. You know, they all have dreams, Bell. They reached out, and got them." The mortal man just shook his head. "I didn't really know I wanted to do, when I joined up with the auto club. Only that, I really liked working on my bike, and that Keima seemed to want me to do more with those skills."

"Well, you have a knack for it." Belldandy told him, as she knelt down by his side. "Keima was right about that." She pushed her perfect fawn hair behind her ear, and took in the sight of his peaceful gaze.

"Yeah." Keiichi nodded. "I thought maybe I'd race for a living, or maybe…more realistically, stick around and chill with Chihiro." Keiichi bit his lip. "You know, the shop is still small, and just like with any business, you lose out on profits for the first few years. Even so, I really think that one day it'll probably get popular." It was with a soft, nervous chuckle that Keiichi sat up and looked at the bike they would be giving to the new racers. "What do you think?"

"Whatever you decide, is perfectly alright with me." Belldandy said simply, as she noticed a blot of dirt that clung to the front headlight, clearing it away. "I simply want you to be happy, Keiichi. Your joy, is my joy, and that is how it will always be."

* * *

Side Note: The only time I've ever seen Tyr in the anime/manga is in episode 4 of the 5 episode OVA, when he's talking to Belldandy over the phone. It's like 10 minutes into the 4th episode. They show a side view, of the lower half of his face. He's of slightly dark complexion, with apparently long, kind of purplish hair, which I'm going to assume is more blackish-purple than actually purple…anyway, that's the only time I've seen him, when he isn't inhabiting someone or something else (like a gate). Ironically enough, he looks rather young, as if, he's just a young man himself. It begs the question of if he's truly omnipotent, of if he's just a young god, trying to be a father, without knowing the consequences of his actions.

Somehow, after a lot of thought, and a look into his impulsive and sometimes freakishly questionable nature, I've decided it's got to be the latter...so if Tyr seems a bit "childish" it's only because I think he may actually be younger than first assumed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_This bound edict, born of our three souls, may very well seem like sacrilege. Still, it must continue to exist out of necessity brought on by creation, and all of its forms. This is only one such compendium found within the very heart and soul of the greater universe, but, it is ours to protect. As the Norn of the past, I must withhold the secrets that should not be seen. Occasionally however, fortune shines upon a soul gifted enough, blessed enough, chosen enough, to see the murmurs of we three keepers of the world tree._

_You must be so gifted, to see such a thing._

_This one passage, however, is without a shadow of a doubt, ironic. Why does this book speak to me now? Why does it beg my heart to share what ought not to be shared? Could it be because I am an embodiment of the world tree? Maybe because I am the Norn of the past? Is that is enough of a reason, truly, to appeal to the call? It's funny that I even care at all about such things. _

_Normally, I wouldn't give a damn, but, Belldandy calls to me, so I shall release this book to the winds who bespeak my name._

_- Urd, protector of the well._

Belldandy was beautiful, in her own, unique way. She was not exotic like her sister Urd, and not at all considered a prodigy like Skuld. Still, her gentle smile was enough to melt the hearts of many, and her devotion was something that went unquestioned by those who knew her. She was not quick to anger, nor to judge those who might have deserved it. Although she was stern, and sometimes quite cross in the face of adversity, she was not an unkind opponent.

Many gods and goddesses described her as the perfect little woman. The title was befitting of the heavens, and so even mortals were quite taken by her abilities, of which she had many. It was not an uncommon dream to become like her, or, to attain her...and yet, her hear belong to a mere mortal man.

She made meals, cleaned the shrine, and acted with a sense of feminine duty along with obedience. She also seemed to be the perfect mother. She cared for Skuld, had an endless sense of calm. Her bright outlook on nearly every topic, not to mention her intellect, made her very personable as well. If all of that was not enough to attract a man, she was a very beautiful woman. Conservative, and a little shy. Soft-spoken, and yet, not a pushover. She could sing and dance with the best of them, and those were the things that made the first class goddess, Belldandy, coveted by most men she came across.

Unless those men were otherwise inclined, or occupied, of course.

Perhaps that was why, in the early morning just before dawn broke through the sky, she was a sight to behold. Resting, completely at ease as the songbirds welcomed a new day. A man like Keiichi would be rendered breathless in a moment. There was once a time when the mortal feared to dishevel this woman, but now, as he brushed a thick strand of fawn hair behind her ear, he refused to untangle himself from her embrace.

Instead, he pulled the covers more tightly around himself, and the woman that he so loved. He took everything with a sense of calm now, enjoying to feel her at his side during hard times, in his arms during the happy times, and quivering heatedly at his touch in the night. It was what he desired most when he'd made the wish, and it was what Belldandy offered to him without a second thought.

After they'd been given the blessing from the judgment gate, his libido had been unlocked. With it, came a deluge of overwhelming desire that he could not keep nestled away any longer. They deepened their relationship to a point that left even him totally speechless. Yet, not everything was blissful, and the world around them still turned, even if at that moment, they both wished that it wouldn't.

A loud blast, punctuated by shouting made Belldandy sigh, and she rolled over, hoping that would make the ruckus go away. "We really should greet the day." Belldandy yawned, unhappy about dragging herself out of bed when she knew her sisters were already running amok. She could already hear the fighting getting worse. "You know how they get when we sleep in." Another loud boom shook the house.

"Think it'll be some sort of magic charge, or one of Skuld's bombs that hit me?" Keiichi grumbled as he kept his eyes shut. As long as he didn't open them, he could always pretend that the morning hadn't come.

"It'll be both if we leave them alone for too long." Belldandy told the man she loved. "Skuld's still trying to adjust to the fact that we're sharing a bedroom." She pulled herself from his embrace, knowing that if she didn't, he'd be contented to just lay there until one of her sisters got bored enough to start trouble. "If she caught sight of this, I think I would be forced to explain a few things that I'm just not ready to."

Keiichi nodded and looked around. Their clothing from last night littered the floor around the futon. "Yeah, I don't want to have to explain that either." It made him smirk happily, and he stretched out, unwilling to leave the warm blankets. Yet, he couldn't just laze about naked either, it was already eight in the morning. "It's the first Saturday in a month that our club isn't getting together." Keiichi grumbled, his voice just a little lower than usual as he rubbed the sleepy haze from his eyes. "What do we need to do today?"

"Keep the house from falling apart?" Belldandy laughed, rummaging around for something to wear. "I know for a fact that I need to go to the store today. We're nearly out of rice, and it couldn't hurt to buy Urd and Skuld some more of their regenerative supplies."

"Skuld's out of ice cream again, isn't she?" Keiichi said, resigning himself to the long day ahead. When Belldandy nodded, he scratched his head, and frowned. There was more to do than he first realized, since his final term paper was also due in the coming weeks. "Well, alright then."

"Did you have anything in mind?" Belldandy asked then, as they dressed for the day ahead.

"I need to go put a few tiles on the roof, and clean the gutters out. I should probably finish the first draft of my term paper too." He replied, fishing around for a shirt that he didn't mind messing up. "Never a dull moment is there?" The yard work ahead was bound to be a messy task.

She forwent answering him with her usual pep, and instead considered the fact that his gut was beginning to rumble. "Is there anything you'd like for breakfast?" She asked him, slipping on one of the floral sundresses she liked most.

"Whatever you feel like making, Bell." He shrugged, tugging on a pair of boxers and jeans. "You know I love your cooking."

"Well, alright then." She said with a cheerful smile. "I'll see what I can come up with."

To the outside observer, they seemed like a normal, of not oddly perfect couple. Keiichi and Belldandy were so right for each other. Mundane things found a new light when shared between them. It was because of that gleaming hope that dwelled within the eyes of the lovers, that the heavens partook amusement from their day to day nothingness.

It was perhaps the simplicity that so attracted onlookers to the tiny shrine in the grand universe. That of course, was a mixed blessing, because while the heavens normally sang in joy, the demons howled in despair. One such demon was loitering around watching the television with Urd, as the two bickered about the latest episode of Winter Storm. Belldandy didn't think anything negative of it, and she made the mental note to add one more place setting to the breakfast table.

...

"I just don't get it…" Keiichi said as he pulled weeds out from the grass. "They usually fight like cats and dogs."

"Even goddesses and demons need a break every now and then." Belldandy smiled, glancing up to the two poker players perched atop the roof on the sunny afternoon. "Mara's not exactly the worst demon out there. Besides, those two share a special kind of relationship."

"They were friends in the past, right?" Skuld asked from her place, as she inspected the now broken lawnmower.

"Yes, Skuld. Before Urd chose her path as a goddess, she lived with Hild down in the bowels of Niflheim. Urd and Mara spent quite a bit of time together back then." Belldandy said with a soft nod. "I still believe that they will always maintain that friendship, even if it is through bickering and rivalry." That was the only way she knew of, that would allow Urd to spend so much time with Mara recreationally here on earth.

"Well, as long as it makes her happy…" Keiichi muttered offhandedly. "And that nothing gets blown up."

"Oh Keiichi, please don't worry about something like that." Belldandy told him as she set her broom off to the side. "It isn't worth it for them to fight right now, or else, Mara wouldn't be here playing cards." It was almost time for afternoon tea, and a snack would do wonders for keeping the peace. "Skuld, would you like to help me in the kitchen?"

"Yeah, sure sis!" Skuld nodded excitedly. "Let me just finish with this, and then I'll be right in."

Keiichi gave one last glance up at the roof, and shook his head, going back to pulling weeds by hand. He followed the path along the flowerbeds that Belldandy so enjoyed to take care of as a hobby of hers. It was a nice day. Too nice, and that's what had Keiichi on edge. A day like this, one so perfect that even the few clouds seemed bright and fluffy, did very little to ease his mind. Still, Belldandy seemed to have faith that the fighting would be kept to a minimum, and Keiichi took faith in Belldandy.

He figured, somehow, everything would work out.

"That's a full house!" Urd whooped as she sat atop the shrine, her latest victory had just cleaned Mara out. She enjoyed five card stud with the best of them. "Better pay up." She took a swig of sake to commemorate her latest win, and then poured another round, lifting her glass to do a toast.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up." Mara muttered, she lifted her glass anyway, downing the sake without delay. "Screw you too." She pulled some more money out of her pocket, letting one of her short, sharp fangs dig into her lip unhappily. "One more round." After pulling out the last wad of bills, Mara realized it was a good thing she would be getting paid at her part time, earth realm job, the next day. "If I lose this hand, I'll need you to advance me."

"Sure thing." Urd said, not thinking twice as she dealt the cards. "I've got your tab running high."

"Don't remind me." Mara grumbled, looking at the hand, and feeling the loss already. A pair of twos did little to ease her spirit.

"Who cares about the money anyway?" Urd said with a shrug, though ironically enough, she didn't offer to give any of it back. "I just like doing this because I'm bored. It kills time, and I have plenty of it."

"That's because it's my money." Mara gazed up at the sky. She knew she was being watched, and she shifted uncomfortably. "So, uh…what's the word with your pals up there?" She asked in a low enough voice not to be heard by unwanted eavesdroppers.

"What?" Urd looked up, realization dawning clearly on her face. "Oh, Peorth and Lind, you mean." At Mara's nod, Urd looked down at the cards in her hand. "I don't really know. They've been scouting the house for about a week now. I'm just letting them float around stupidly. If they want to stay in hiding, that's their own fault."

"Why don't they just crash here like everyone else?" Mara asked, thinking it to be a legitimate question. "Knowing your sister, she would treat them like honored guests."

"Must be some reason." Perplexed, but also dismissive, Urd continued to eye her cards with the same scrutiny as a starving pit viper after prey. "I don't go around bothering them, as long as they stay out of my way. That's a fair trade, I think." With a bit of luck, she'd win this round too, and that made her grin evilly.

There were indeed two goddesses hiding away in the clouds like refugees. It was another warm, and entirely lazy afternoon, and Lind was getting bored. After seven days of monitoring the household, she was ready to just give up and go back to heaven. Still, Peorth insisted that Lind should be dragged all over creation on her very whim, and Tyr allowed it.

Lind couldn't fathom why, and, she was also quite disinterested in trivialities. She was missing out on training because of this, and as far as she was concerned, her unit needed her. "Why am I here?" The combat goddess yawned, scratching at her exposed belly. There was no point to wear her combat garb when there wasn't any threat, so she took to normal white robes instead.

"I need you here, that's why." Peorth hissed in a heated whisper. "Look, there's a demon down there."

"Demon?" Lind grunted, peaking over the misty whisps of white that she claimed as her perch. In a scowl, she became on high alert, until she realized just who the demon was. "That's Mara." Lind assessed with a raised eyebrow. "She's hardly a threat. On her own she's more like a kitten than a demon." She rolled back over, and stretched out. "Did I agreed to be your backup just because Urd has a gambling hobby on the weekends?"

"For moral support among friends!" Peorth protested, giving Lind a stern look. "Can't you understand that Belldandy's suffering?"

The goddess of combat merely sighed and shook her head, deciding it best to close her eyes and take a nap. Just as she had decided upon her next course of action, Peorth started to grumble audibly again. "Belldandy will be fine, Peorth." Lind murmured. "Just give them some space."

"How can you say that?" Peorth retorted, almost losing her concentration and falling off of the cloud upon which they'd been hiding. "She's suffering, I can feel it within my heart."

"I say it, because it's true." Lind deadpanned. "Keiichi's there." She figured that would be enough, but one sideways glance told her that it wasn't.

Dumbfounded, Peorth cocked her head. "So?"

As a goddess in the special operations division, Lind didn't take kindly to demons. However, she wasn't particularly threatened by them, so long as they weren't making havoc. She could feel the uneasy atmosphere that seemed to cloak over the shrine, but it wasn't as if there was anything to be done about it. Mara wasn't to blame. "So, it's exactly as I said before, Peorth." Lind replied pointedly. "Keiichi's there." The woman of silver tresses shrugged. "That's all I need to know. Belldandy will be fine, so long as she's with him."

"You put too much faith in that mortal." Peorth groaned. "More faith than I would."

"What you fail to understand, is that he isn't just any mortal." Lind let her stoic gaze drift back to the shrine, and she nodded to herself. "It's the mortal she made the conscious choice to fall in love with." In hopes to drown out the sun, she took her long strands of hair and covered her eyes. "Keiichi's strong, he can take care of her on his own. It doesn't matter if she's a goddess or a mortal."

Peorth crossed her arms over her ample bosom, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "And that line of reasoning, Lind, is precisely why you aren't a goddess of love."

…

It was because of Belldandy's often perfect way of life, that even the tiniest mishap was something astonishing. It wasn't that Belldandy couldn't make a mistake, but that she often took a great deal of effort to make sure things in her life ran smoothly. It was because she was a goddess, that more often than not, her efforts were rewarded. That's why little tells were so important.

A little bit of burnt food, broken objects, or unworldly oddities spoke of something on the horizon. Even if it couldn't be seen, the occupants of the house knew when something was horribly amiss. Although Belldandy was normally a shy, quiet goddess, who often didn't raise her voice, she was a woman after all. That was entirely the underlying problem, though the goddess in question refused to admit that, not even to her own, slowly decaying heart.

As womanly as she was, she was also a goddess, and the uneasy storm was brewing within the depths of her soul. It wasn't any mystery, and they could all sense it. Feel it sending a cold chill, like an icy breeze.

So, as Urd slung around her magic, playfully taunting Skuld, she also kept half an eye on the middle Norn. There would always be a lingering sense of hesitancy between Belldandy and Keiichi, but Urd sighed. It bothered her. She couldn't stand watching her younger, and easily addled sibling. Muddling through being in love was not an easy thing. It was even more complicated when one considered the nature of Belldandy's relationship.

"Come on Skuld! Come at me with more force." Urd shouted over a loud boom of thunder. Skuld needed all the practice she could get, and Belldandy didn't need to know the truth. Urd knew they were being watched, but she didn't dare speak a word of that. "Is that all you've got?" Urd shouted, egging the youngest Norn on with even more handfuls of magic.

"You're going to pay, Urd!" At that, Skuld was on the offensive again, and expertly, Urd dodged most of the oncoming missiles from one of Skuld's latest inventions. "Get back here!"

"Check mate!" Urd shouted, as she sent one final blast Skuld's way. It may have seemed harsh, but it really was a way for gods and goddesses to play. A way to learn, a way to grow. In that, it might have seemed a little mean to send her youngest sister spiraling into a tree, but, Urd was also more than just a goddess. She wouldn't hold back from properly attaining victory.

With another round of fighting over and done with, she landed deftly to the ground. Belldandy seemed withdrawn recently. There were times when goddess needed to talk. "Need a hand?" Urd asked as she snapped her fingers, watching as another part of the house went back to the way it had been before. Her fight with Skuld had nearly turned the house into dust.

"No, it's alright." Belldandy shook her head. "You've used enough magic by helping Skuld, you shouldn't use more just to put the house back together."

"You could do it in one swipe of your hand." Urd said then. "Why aren't you?"

"I simply don't see the need to use more magic than required, one bit at a time." Belldandy replied as she began to inspect the newly repaired living room. "Besides, I think it would be best if I don't lose sight of things." She went on to say with a smile, as she dusted off the low table that sat in the main living area of the home they shared. "Magic is very limited, I've begun to understand that." Beginning to sweep up debris, she didn't catch the scowl on Urd's face, and merely prattled on. "Things that can be done by hand, should be done by hand, with the care expected."

Urd frowned, crossing her arms. "If that's the way it is, then so be it." It wasn't what she had expected to hear, but she took the words for what they were. "I suppose someone like you would think of things that way. It won't help much."

"Huh?" Belldandy asked.

"I'm only saying that I see your point, Bell." Urd shrugged it off.

Over the time that Belldandy had spent on earth, she began to lose touch with a more heavenly outlook, in favor perhaps, of a more human heart. One that wished...one that dreamed...and within that, a new enlightenment began to find a purchase within her soul. A very powerful one, not only of love, but of a truth that remained unfulfilled.

"Well, you've never been blind." Belldandy said, trying to offer a smile. "I should thank you Urd, if it hadn't been for you, I doubt I ever would have found the confidence to lead a more human life." Her cheeks tinged pink. "Mortal women are more aggressive than goddesses, I believe."

"I resent that." Urd groused, trying her best not to take the offensive statement to heart. "There are plenty of aggressive goddesses, you just aren't one of them." Urd regretted her tone, and sighed. "Just like I was telling you, romance is all well and good to think about, but thinking without action solves nothing."

"That is true." Belldandy nodded sadly. "Isn't it?"

"I wouldn't lie about something like that." Urd said, feeling a wave of distress come from the very air around her. "You and Keiichi still having problems?"

Belldandy shook her head to indicate the negative. "It's new." Belldandy afforded with a blush on her cheeks. "Very different than what I expected, but I think because of that, it's made us stronger." Then she nipped at her lower lip and sighed. "I only fear this will open doors to discussions between the two of us that I simply can't say...bedding a mortal is quite problematic in its own ways, isn't it?"

As long as her heart continued to seek solace, as goddess she would continue to feel incomplete. Belldandy was caught between desire, and solidarity. Floating haphazardly, between the duties of a woman, and the requirements of a goddess. Urd could only pity her sister, and that wasn't an easy thing to do. Urd had always looked up to her younger sister, as odd as many might have thought that was.

"Yes Belldandy, it is." Urd forced herself to say. Looking down on the first class goddess seemed wrong. Urd had no idea how to cope with that truth. The eldest goddess snapped her fingers a few more times, and then chanted an incantation, putting the entire house back where it belonged. She needed a distraction, and thought back to the power she could coax from her fingertips. "I don't see how it magic is limited, only that goddesses restrain themselves. That's just how we are…well, most of us." As she expected, Belldandy gave her a frown. "What?"

"Magic is a convenience, and in heaven it is common place. Here on earth, there is far more to be gained without magic. Due to the nature of the life forms found here, magic can almost be considered obsolete." With a gentle bow, she went about going inside to do her normal household cleaning. She didn't make it very far before another light bulb shattered from above. "That too, is due to magic." She sighed, pointing up to the ceiling.

"Magic huh?" Urd muttered. The eldest Norn was able to make the connection. "Doesn't look like magic to me…looks like emotional distress."

"I'm afraid it's a matter a both." The newest voice cut in. "Hey guys, it's been a while." Peorth had seen enough, and decided to make herself known.

"What do you want this time?" Urd muttered on the offensive, Peorth was leaning comfortingly in the doorway, and that set Urd on edge.

"Urd!" Frankly, Belldandy agreed, but she offered a smile. "It's good to see you, Peorth. What brings you here?"

"Orders from the council. The big men upstairs, your father most of all, wanted me to come down." Peorth surveyed the area. She could tell something was amiss, and she let a small, saddened smile slip across her face. It was just as he said, Belldandy was suffering, even if she wouldn't admit the true nature of it. "Trouble in paradise, Bell?"

Belldandy looked up at the broken light bulb above her head and simply sighed. "You know, Peorth, you could say that." The bits of glass shattered into dust underfoot.

"Alright, dish." Peorth said, and clutched the little microchip she had hidden in her gloved palm just a little tighter. "What's been going on?"

Belldandy didn't know where to begin. "Things have been difficult, I suppose."

"Storms are brewing." Urd interrupted, giving Peorth a knowing look.

"They are not!" Belldandy scolded with a shake of her head. "The broken bulb was due to magic." Belldandy said again. "Humans don't do that simply by passing under them. They don't have the capacity for their emotions to get the better of them like that. This isn't a storm…not exactly." Belldandy said then. "I'm just…coming to terms with a few things."

"I wonder if the system is under bug attack again." Urd said in offhandedly, only to hear another regretful sigh from her sister.

"It isn't anything to do with Yggdrasil." Belldandy said sadly. "I don't know why, but I'm sure of it."

"You are?" Urd protested. "It wouldn't be the first time that system screwed itself up."

Peorth shook her head, she knew Belldandy was right. "I already checked that, everything's as it should be." Peorth explained, putting a hand over her heart as if that somehow would quell the two sisters. "This is something else…the system is fine. Whatever seems to be wrong, it simply must be coming from Belldandy's soul."

"I was afraid of that. Poor Keiichi won't be very happy when I tell him what's been going on lately." Belldandy lamented with a quiet sigh. It spoke volumes, and along with it, a nearby vase met its demise, shattering to bits. "This is beginning to get out of hand."

"See what I mean?" Peorth said with a shake of her head. "If she so much as thinks about that boy, she blows something up."

"Oh, I see alright." Urd smirked.

Peorth couldn't share in the humor at all. It was depressing, having to watch another first class goddess, her rival, have to endure such a thing. "These storms, while not of jealously, are brought on by a very distinct, yet subtle desire, that had yet to be fully realized." Peorth said by way of an explanation. "You and Keiichi are simply incompatible as it is, and, it's taking a toll. It's as simple as that."

"It isn't so simple." Belldandy shot back. "This is entirely too complicated."

"I think this is a conversation best left to me, Peorth." Urd replied, holding her hand up to stop a rebuke. "I know you've been sent here, but I'm a systems admin too." She knew a program when she felt one lingering in the area. "Let me talk to her first."

"What is this about?" Belldandy asked, tears beginning to come to her eyes.

"I think, I'll go pay Skuld a little visit." Peorth said slowly, nodding to Urd, understanding how difficult this would be. She left the sisters to their devices, and gave a silent prayer that all would be well. She didn't want to look at anything so disheartening again.

...

"Urd…" Belldandy begged, looking to the tanned goddess. "Please, help me." The middle Norn replied, lost for words. "I don't know what I should do."

"Look on the bright side, number one." Urd said, trying to sound at ease and calm. "Number two, don't worry. We'll figure it out." At least, Urd hoped they would. This was a thorny situation. Sure, Keiichi loved Belldandy, there was no doubt of that. The two of them would be inseparable, and, it wasn't merely because of a heavenly contract. Still, as Urd began to sweep up the pieces of yet another broken item, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the young woman.

As much as Urd normally pushed Keiichi, this was not something he could solve on his own. Respectful though he was, in recent years he had become a man worthy of proving such deep love...it was time he settled down, and started a family of his own flesh and blood. Surely, Belldandy knew that, but she remained unable to do such a thing. That was part of the problem.

"Belldandy, if you had to take a guess, how many eons old are you?" Urd had meant it to be a simple statement, but, she knew the truth. Their age was easily as fluid as time itself.

"That's a silly question. It's hard to measure." Belldandy laughed, goddesses had an everlasting lifespan that never really ended. If a goddess died, eventually, they would be reborn. It was how the heavens worked...the devils, or more appropriately called demons, had a similar way of life. "I've been around so long now, age has sort of slipped my mind." Belldandy bit her lower lip. "Let me see, an eon is roughly half a billion years or so."

Seeing Belldandy struggle, Urd sighed, trying to push her little sister along. "Oh, come on, take a guess. If it helps you, I'm nearly four. I'm going to be an old hag soon." Then Urd blinked and cursed. "You know what they say about a goddess who's reached the fourth eon without getting married." With a shiver, she shook her head, not wanting to think about it. "Well, that's just a bit unsettling, now isn't it?"

"Oh please, it's just a number Urd." Belldandy retorted. "Besides, you know eons are just a drop in the bucket. It's when you start counting your life in exaseconds that you need to start worrying about age." That thought made Belldandy roll her eyes before a pang settled into her heart. With a sigh, she tried to think of an answer for Urd's question. "I've no idea...Skuld is only one eon, so I couldn't possibly be older than three." Belldandy paused, she was still quite young, at least by a heavenly standard. "I've never really thought about it, to be honest. Why do you ask?"

"Because I think your powers are starting to get the better of you." Urd replied, unsure just how much her sister wanted her prying into this particular subject. "Think about it, goddesses are only subject to random mood swings when two things happen. The first happens before the first few thousand years, when a goddess attains her magical powers, and matures to adulthood entirely."

Belldandy closed her eyes, nodding in understanding. She knew all of that already. "A goddess's powers are attained by feeling love, and thus strengthen by love. As a first class goddess, that demand for power is much higher, even with a limiter. Goddesses of a first class, unlimited license, will often have strong urges to meet the demands of her powers." Belldandy quoted old passages. "The second time only happens when the feelings of the goddess in question aren't fully realized. Such as the reproduction of offspring, or the lack of a spiritual bond with someone." Belldandy nodded. "I know all of that already."

Urd merely leaned on the wall nearby. "It happens to everyone eventually, but first class, unlimited goddesses, tend to run into power demands much faster than others. Since it's our version of a biological clock, and it'll get strong and stronger, until it slowly becomes problematic." She decided to conjure up some tea in hopes of "You're not a teenager anymore, Belldandy. It's time to put out, and get knocked up."

"Urd!" At that, a nearby chair turned into a stuffed animal, and Belldandy rolled her eyes, changing it back quickly. "That's…that's just…" Belldandy sighed with a shake of her head.

"Normal." Urd supplied, taking her sister by the shoulders. "You're reaching that age, Bell. It's normal, trust me."

The middle Norn blushed deeply. She knew her older sister was right, but, it made her uncomfortable to think about it. "I guess, I never had the need to think about this, and, I assumed that with my contract in place, I'd be okay, at least for Keiichi's lifetime." Still, Belldandy knew she wasn't an adolescent anymore. She was a young woman, a young goddess, who had to ponder about fulfilling her own desires. "I'm plenty old enough, I guess." She said then, unsure about it.

"You've been old enough for a while now." Urd replied dryly. "Most goddesses start young...after a few thousand years they find a strapping young god and settle down...but you've been waiting around."

"I know, I know." Belldandy sighed. "I just didn't feel that I was ready." Her intended reason for existing was not only part of the world tree, but also something far more delicate. "You know that once a goddess such as myself starts to have children, we've often time for little else. We usually settle down, and when we get married, we do as our husbands say."

"Don't let Anzasu hear that." Urd said then, a little humor behind her words.

"She's a rare alteration to the rule, Urd." Belldandy protested, not wanting to accept what she knew was pure fact. "Her idea of obedience is sticking her tongue out at someone, and shooing them off respectively." Belldandy shook her head. "Father knows that, and besides, he finds difficult women amusing. Most other gods require obedience, and I'm not so willing to be that type of person so easily."

Urd didn't bother to mention that the three of them could also be considered difficult, and instead clicked her tongue. Belldandy would defy the demands of the men in her life all the time, she was just a bit more respectful about it. That couldn't be the real issue, but, Urd couldn't figure out what was. "I sense hesitancy…" Urd told her younger sister dryly. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Not right now." Belldandy said, a sadness deeply cloaking her voice. "Maybe someday, just, not now."

Urd cursed under her breath. She knew someday would be much sooner rather than later. She could feel it swirling in the pit of her gut, and the mere thought made her uncomfortable. She let her sister slip from her grasp, and stifled the oncoming retort that she wanted to say. She would be forced to spectate this horrible atrocity. Try though Urd might, she wondered if she could accept Belldandy's words.

"Someday, huh?" There was no one around to hear the words, but, she felt that was all the more reason to give them a voice. "You don't have the luxury." Urd told Belldandy's retreating form with a pitying smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Hear me, I beg thee._

_Listen to my dearest, sweetest murmur, that cradles my most fondest wish. May it find you, and keep you well when nothing else can. Let it guide you to safer shores. Surrender to my plea, and let my soul reach out for you...let me speak to you once more._

_Let my voice carry my dreams, and tell of my tale. I, the Norn of the present, Belldandy, can only speak freely when my sisters and I are as one. Then, my soul can truly sing, and so, it does. I will admit, these passage have a great many confessions hidden within the pages, and I am not the first goddess to spill my tears over such a thing. Still, even pain is beauty. I believe that now, in my heart of hearts, and I wish for that truth to shine onward into the depths of my soul._

_We the three of the world tree, welcome you, traveler…_

_Oh, but I wish that I could do more than welcome you. I wish that I could do more than kiss these words upon the page. With the spirit that so lingers within the wind, I beg of you to find answers here. Yet, I'm sad to say, that I am unable to do more than that. If you so desire, place down your cane, and rest upon the mangled roots. Take in the shade, and partake savory fruit. When night time falls, you may rest nestled in the branches, and this great tree will keep you warm. It is our wish, our hope, that you will find solace for the pit of your soul._

_So please, I beg of thee, listen to our murmurs upon the wind, and see our scrawling's upon the pages. We three keepers beckon you, please, say that you'll stay._

_Belldandy, the whisperer in the wind. _

Keiichi wasn't a complete idiot, though he was often told as much.

The truth was that instead, the boy was very observant, and his shy demeanor afforded him plenty of time to reflect. He was the type of man to appreciate the sunrise with the same withdrawn amazement that he also used to watch the sunset. His soft heart made things like that meaningful to him, and, some could argue that's what made him able to love a goddess, and, why he was so loved by Belldandy in return.

He was attentive, even if it didn't seem like it. Sure, he might have come off as a little dense at times, but, he was in love with a being he didn't have the capacity to commune with. He was merely a mortal, and it wasn't in his nature. That alone made matters difficult. They were two very different, very complex, entities.

He wanted to be able to understand her, but, sometimes, the gap was simply too wide.

When he first began to get to know Belldandy, everything was so new, and confusing. She tried so hard to fit into his world, and he worked hard to accommodate a woman into his life. As time went on for him, however, he began to better understand her impossible life, and her intentions. He began to understand that goddesses were emotional creatures, that they needed affirmation more than even a mortal, because their hearts were so very attuned to particular feelings.

Time and time again, he was warned about just how young Belldandy really was, and sometimes, her naivety got the better of her. Even so, she stayed by his side unwaveringly through some very hard times. He would never forget that, or, of his feelings for her. It took him several years to do it, but, he finally began to grasp the concept of what a goddess might like.

Now, he was actually quite comfortable with a goddess as a companion, a lover, and a soul mate. It was however, the latter of these three that still confused him to no end. It left him lost, as if he couldn't escape the forest of fog and foreboding that cloaked his innermost worries. Keiichi felt as if he still had duties as a lover that he would unquestionably uphold.

He had to care for Belldandy, after all.

Holybell was an angel who could not speak the human tongue. The angel had to give the man credit where credit was due. Keiichi tried hard to include the unspeaking deity in his day to day activities. Still, there were times he felt as if he was dealing with two women, instead of only one. It was also very unsettling to share a bath with a glowing angelic apparition.

He'd almost grown used to it, just as he'd grown used to Holybell fluttering over him during other times. Still, she and Belldandy were not entirely one in the same. Holybell was a reflection, and as such, lacked Belldandy's ability to separate mortal practices from immortal practices. Rather, even if Holybell knew it was futile to do something, as it held no merit for her either way, she still attempted to try. The innocent deity made that fact abundantly clear as she splashed in the water, drenching herself with bucket after bucket, as if it were a waterfall. Then she went about covering herself so profusely in suds, that she merely looked like a mound of them.

"I think you used a little too much soap." Keiichi said with a laugh as he leaned over the edge of the tub, picking up the empty bottle of shower gel. "Do you want me to help rinse you off?"

The fluttering angel shook her head, insisting to do it herself.

"Oh my…" Belldandy came in, covering her mouth to conceal a giggle. "Holybell, that's for humans." Belldandy murmured, as she grabbed a bucket to fill it with water. "Angels don't require worldly things like this, you know that."

The angel looked at her master and fluttered her wings. _Help! They won't come off._ She whined, her whole body covered in white bubbles that thankfully hid her dour depression. Flapping her wings only made matters worse. _See? Look at that, what a mess._ Holybell sighed.

_It's alright Holybell._ Belldandy projected her thoughts as she began to rinse the poor deity off. After a few buckets, she found herself confused. "There's more suds than I'd thought there would be…"

"I think she used the whole bottle." Keiichi replied offhandedly, offering Belldandy a look of understanding as he shrugged. He shook the bottle for emphasis, there was nothing left.

_I wanted to be closer to Keiichi…_ Holybell said in way of an explanation, even if it wasn't a good one. _Master, please don't be cross with me._ Holybell begged sadly as she frowned, knowing only her master could hear the utter despair in her voice.

Belldandy wisely chose not to respond to that, and instead looked to Keiichi. She could understand Holybell's lament. The earth was not meant for her, and sadly enough, anything she would try to take part in would likely backfire, horribly. Angels were simply not meant to partake of the gifts mortal areas of creation could offer.

She had to think of something though, because she knew Holybell needed help. _It'll be a__lright._ She projected, with a softness echoing in her mind.

Yet, more importantly, the angel needed Keiichi. "The girls flew off to find a hot spring." Belldandy said, getting an idea. "I think I might go with them and catch up on heavenly gossip. Lind and Peorth are with them, and I've missed having a night out to pray to the heavens." She offered Keiichi a hopeful glance, before leaning over to give him a kiss. As much as she enjoyed his embrace, she knew Holybell could use some of his undivided attention as well. "I'll leave her with you, watch the stars with her tonight." She murmured in Keiichi's ear. "She'll like that."

"Sounds like a plan." Keiichi said with a nod, as he looked over to Holybell. "I think we'll go to that little clearing in the woods." Keiichi said, knowing the angel loved it there. "Want to have ourselves a little camp out, Holybell?"

The angel nodded exuberantly.

"Alright then." Belldandy said, knowing being so far away from Holybell would be a massive drain to her energy, and yet she didn't complain. "I'll meet you both there later." To try and offset some of the energy drain, she grabbed one of the moonstones that Keiichi had made, taking it with her before going off in search of her friends.

He offered Holybell a nervous smile. "Um, want to come in the tub with me for a little bit?" He asked, trying to see if that would make her happy. He watched as she fluttered about, as if she was shy, and looked to him with the tiniest blush on her face. She was hesitating for his sake, he could tell. "Holybell, it would make me happy, if you did."

She looked up, her question unspoken, though it lingered in her eyes.

He nodded, and held out his hand, waiting for her to take. After a few moments, she finally decided that she did want to join him in the tub, and got in with him. Her blue eye shimmered with her uncertainty, until his hand cupped her cheek. "I know I'm just a mortal." He told her, trying his best to get her to understand. "This might sound really stupid coming from me, because I don't have an angel of my own for you to commune with." He went ahead and murmured his thoughts anyway. "I love you too, Holybell. Never doubt that."

Tears came to those endless blue eyes, and she hugged him, clinging onto the mortal man as though her very existence depended on him, soundless sobs shaking her form. Keiichi, being the man that he was, held her through the turmoil.

…

It wasn't very often that the goddesses could congregate together on earth without mortals around.

Belldandy was sure that if they did, they'd be in for quite a shock. The heavens were an open place to live, filled with such a rich and profound history. It was one that she couldn't even begin to explain. Thankfully, Keiichi had never prayed too deeply, so she was never really forced to say anything. Even the goddesses before her now, could not comprehend the magnitude of what the heavens had to offer.

Belldandy knew that even she was merely an innocent babe when compared to her father, Tyr, who was already in his thirtieth eon or so. Her grandfather Odin was even older than that, and when she put herself into perspective, her life was a merely a blink in comparison. At least such a thought explained the controlled havoc she stumbled upon, once landing at their usual meeting place, far away from any mortal.

The hot spring was off in a secluded area, and as such, the goddesses and their angels seemed to be enjoying themselves. Some admittedly much more than others. Lind and Skuld were the considerate two of the bunch. Their angles were enjoying the warm water with normal, childlike glee, as their masters spoke at length of upcoming combat training. Something that Skuld took an interest in.

Urd, and Peorth were having a heated battle of womanly proportions, and thus, their angels were doing the same. Belldandy didn't give any thought to show the two goddess were giving, though she did allow a small giggle to slip across her face. "If only the elders could see this."

"Oh, please, this is a disgrace. If one of the elder goddesses saw this floozy strutting about, they'd have a heart attack." Peorth retorted, shaking her head at the eldest Norn. "Urd, really. Learn to have a little class."

"I'll have you know that I've already received my tutelage and the mastery of sensual arts." Urd replied, seating herself back into the hot spring. Crossing one leg over the other to offer just a bit of modesty, she didn't bother with her breasts as she looked up at the middle Norn. "Well, are you going to join us, or just stand there and gawk?"

"Urd, please, I've only just arrived." Belldandy told her sister as she disrobed to enter the water near the deeper end of the pools. The steam lifted into the air, and the water was pleasantly hot to the touch. With a sigh, she settled in. "Honestly, to be quite frank, I'm glad I didn't have Keiichi join us. He probably wouldn't know what to do with himself, considering that you all see it fit to swim in the nude."

"You've been on earth too long." Peorth told her. "What god within his right mind, or goddess for that matter, swims in bathing suits?"

"Or cloud cover for that matter." Urd added with a smirk.

"Goddesses who apply themselves." Belldandy said, as she closed her eyes and dunked her head under the water. "I hate to say this, but there are particular rules that mortals seem to follow." She had to admit, it was much more liberating to swim without anything on, as the greater universe so intended. Even she didn't understand that particular need for modesty, but, it seemed to be a mortal trait.

"Hey, big sis, where's Holybell?" Skuld asked, being the first to notice the angel's absence.

"She's spending her time with Keiichi, they're going to watch the stars and enjoy some time alone." Belldandy said, as Lind's twin angels examined Belldandy, looking for their friend. "Sorry girls, she's just not here right now." She told them. "You can play together tomorrow."

Lind sighed at her two troublemakers. "Spear Mint, cut that out." She told her more devious angel, who was just sure Belldandy had to be fibbing, and kept hovering at Belldandy's back, waiting for her friend to emerge. "Cool Mint, you too." She ordered sternly when she realized that angel was toying with Belldandy's earrings. "Leave her weapons alone, go find something else to do…the both of you."

Like kittens after a sparkling toy, they continued to poke at the little chimes that so captivated them. "Girls!" Lind scolded, causing the two angels to look at her. They cocked their heads to the side and pointed to the earrings. "They aren't playthings. Belldandy keeps her fighting equipment there." Lind replied, as she pulled one of her relatively harmless staffs out from the stud in her ear. "Here." She said, materializing a training poleaxe. "Swing this at a tree, or something." The angels clapped excitedly, and went off in search of something to hit, causing Lind to shake her head in dismay.

"They're as energetic as ever." Belldandy laughed when they finally took the hint.

Lind frowned at that. "If it isn't Spear Mint's curiosity and temperament getting the better of her, then it is usually Cool Mint's tenacity and desire to play with weapons." Lind shook her head and sunk deeper into the water. "They're exhausting."

"And they say I'm the one with the dual nature." Urd laughed, as World of Elegance joined the others.

"Lind seems to be just as troublesome." Peorth laughed, regaling the group with some of the more amusing banter from up above. "Before she was teased because she couldn't use both angels at once. Now she's teased because they seem to own her, not the other way around. Honestly, Lind, you should keep a better hold of those two."

Urd only offered a smirk. Lind was a young goddess, even younger than Belldandy. Lind's angels were merely playful little scamps as a result. "They'll grow out of it." The eldest Norn said then, looking over to Skuld's angel, who was also quite the little deviant, as far as angels were concerned. "Lind, you're what, two eons?"

The goddess shook her head. "A few thousand years away from that. I'm still in my first."

Urd glanced back to the young angels, who were terrorizing World of Elegance and Gorgeous Rose to the best of their ability. "That explains a lot…"

"Noble Scarlet!" Skuld shouted, when she caught smallest of the group trying harass the elder angels. "Don't do that!" Her angel dropped the magical ball she was holding, and Skuld shook her head. "If you give them any more ideas, Lind will blame me."

"I already blame you." Urd told her sister, giving her a flick on the nose as she passed by.

"Well, don't just float there…" Peorth shook her head, at Gorgeous Rose. "Woman up and fight back."

"Elegance, you too." Urd commanded. "Don't take Scarlet's crap."

"Never mind Noble Scarlet." Peorth proclaimed with her hands on her hips. "It's Cool Mint and Spear Mint who've got the deadly weapon. Look that them, it's absolutely reckless. That's completely uncalled for!"

"Don't sound so worried, it's just a training weapon." Lind shrugged, unamused and not particularly bothered by their antics. There wasn't much damage they could do against elder angels without the help of their master. "It can't actually hurt them, though, it might ruffle their feathers a little bit."

Belldandy just shook her head. "My goodness." Now she almost wished she had brought Holybell along to keep the peace. "This is worse than when the boys start a ruckus at the auto club." She could only pray that the angles kept civility at the forefront of their minds, before a magical warfare broke out…something she knew for a fact, World of Elegance and Gorgeous Rose both seemed to be prone to starting. She needed a distraction, and sought one in Lind. "So, how do you like having the twins roam freely, Lind?"

"I'm in for the long haul with those two." The young goddesses said with a shake of her head. "It's an energy drain."

"I'll bet." Skuld nodded. "They seem full of life, it must come from all of your power."

"Not to mention your tenacity." Peorth added with a soft, distant smile. She could remember her younger days, when her angel wasn't as well behaved as she was now. "Although, Urd's right. They're still only hatchlings in the grand scheme."

"Most goddesses don't realize how taxing it is on the mind too. The girls are always chattering, or getting into something." Lind replied, her eyes closed as she let herself enjoy the convenience of the hot spring. "It also doesn't help that because they're twins, they have to share a perch within my soul." She muttered under her breath before sighing. "I hope they grow out of this childishness soon."

"I never realized you were so young, Lind." Skuld said then, realizing that in the grand scheme of things, the two of them were very close in age. "You're one of the best in the unit, aren't you?"

"Yes, but age doesn't matter within the ranks." Lind explained. "It all comes down to skill."

"She's a prodigy when it comes to combat, even if her magic is a little off." Peorth said with a shrug. "Like you, when it comes to your machines, Skuld."

"I'm trying, alright?" Lind said, opening one eye to glare at Peorth. "Besides, my combat magic works just fine. I can sling fire, ice, and electricity around with the best of them. I get the job done."

"It's your restorative magic I lack faith in." Peorth shot back pointedly. "You really should take a few lessons from someone, preferably before you mangle any more houses in the residential district of heaven."

"That's only happened a few times." Lind muttered, unwilling to accept that she just couldn't restore things properly. "Anyway, we both know I'm not here to learn how to build a house, or to make a tree sprout leaves." Her eyes fell onto Belldandy, studying her before frowning. "So…tough times have touched down onto the mortal realm, huh Belldandy?"

"Is it really that obvious?" Belldandy asked, feeling the spotlight fall onto her. She wasn't quite sure that she liked it.

"Big sis, we can all tell when something's bothering you." Skuld said, crossing her arms indignantly in the water. "The only problem is, I don't know what it is, and if I don't know, I can't help."

"Is that so?" Belldandy offered her younger sister a smile. "I see."

"Sis, there's a problem." It was so easy to forget that Skuld was an adult in age, even if her body wouldn't reach adulthood for a little while longer due to her delayed aging pattern. "So, just tell us what it is already." She would always be youthful, but, as a goddess, Skuld was maturing.

"I don't think that you can, Skuld." Belldandy explained with a sigh. All of the goddesses around her could probably feel the change that had been happening in her heart, and she finally curled up on one of the rocks that was submerged under the water, drawing her knees to her chest. "I'm in love with him, and, my powers are begging of something he simply can't give."

"Belldandy, you've got to talk about it. Have a little faith in us." Peorth said then, her words cutting through the air. "That's why Lind and I are here. Something must be done, because if you don't act, you'll either damage the earth, or yourself." Peorth replied. "Thing is, I'm not entirely sure which."

Belldandy sighed at the order she'd been given, knowing full well she couldn't simply ignore it. "It just wasn't the time to listen to my powers before." Belldandy finally said. "Furthermore, it most certainly isn't the time now, while bound under contract. As a goddess, I'm..." Belldandy cut herself off with a sigh. "It's no use."

"You know, these urges of yours…they're only going to get stronger." Even as Urd let it slip from her lips, she couldn't help but feel badly for the blush that fell over her sister's face. "Don't you think you should just tell him?"

"Tell him what exactly…" Peorth muttered, looking to Urd with a glare of distaste. "That she wants children, and that he can't give them to her? That her powers are slowly going to drain out of her, because she has no way to receive his soul? That her angle will suffer for it, because try as though he might, he's _only_ a mortal?"

"Well, she can't very well hide it." Urd shot back with an exasperated sigh. "This is only going to get worse."

The fact that Belldandy seemed to be working her way into a depression bothered Skuld immensely. She wasn't fond of having to share her sister with anyone, but put she up with Keiichi because it made Belldandy happy. Now, Belldandy's sadness was taking over again, and Skuld couldn't bear to see it. There was one detail, though, that didn't sit well. "Wait…" Skuld looked over at her sister, who was still curling into herself, and then over to Peorth. "What do you mean, Keiichi can't…he is a guy, isn't he?" She asked, shyly, and now more than just a little confused.

"Yes Skuld." Peorth replied. "For a mortal, he's entirely functional too."

"I didn't need to hear that part!" Skuld yelled, ducking under the water when her face turned red. "That's gross."

"It has to do with heavenly regulations, Skuld." Lind said, a blush also coloring her cheeks too. "This has nothing to do with Keiichi's abilities as a male." She cleared her throat and rolled her eyes. "In recent times, a law was passed. It basically states that anytime a mortal comes into contact with a god or a goddess, particular bodily functions are shut down."

"Mortals have their codes changed. They're rendered impotent and sterile to immortal beings." Peorth said with a smirk, causing Belldandy and Lind to give her a dirty look. "Granted, recently, Keiichi's been able to perform sexually because the gate favored him, but he's still incompatible. They can't ever have children, Skuld."

Urd shared the catlike grin. "There are some positive sides to that."

"Oh god…" Skuld balked, with a shiver. "But why can't we just change his code."

Lind came to the rescue again. "Even after the code is reversed, there's still a failsafe involved. Mortals simply can't procreate with immortal beings anymore. They can sleep around with them all they want, but the two spirit wavelengths are just incompatible, thanks to the way we've programmed Yggdrasil." Lind shrugged then. "Immortals like gods, goddesses, demons, and elemental spirits need some sort of soul deity to latch onto. Without it, they're simply infertile and sterile."

Urd nodded sadly, taking over from there. "Since Keiichi is a mortal, he doesn't have an angel for Holybell to commune with. As a goddesses, we can't have a child unless our angels have a spiritual deity to bond with…any spiritual deity would do, but Keiichi doesn't even have that much."

Skuld sighed at that, looking over to Belldandy. "Couldn't you just adopt a child or two?"

"She could, but that wouldn't fulfill her spiritual desire." Peorth replied.

"Then what will?" Skuld asked, her mind tormented by the mere thought of her sister continuing to suffer.

"This." Peorth said, producing the microchip out of thin air. "This right here is your ticket to a lot of unanswered questions." She looked over at her longtime friend and rival. "You've got some choices to make, Belldandy, but I can make it easy for you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Oh, how I've always loved music. I shall even admit that I once envied larks of their position. The creatures passed by overhead to sing songs from the heavens, and I wished I could do the same. Such sweet music comes from their call. I've always found birds to sing beautifully, but then again, it really shouldn't be a surprise. You see, I've always liked beautiful singing from my sisters as well. Belldandy's voice was the most captivating of all. Even now, when a bird comes to greet me, I think merely of her. I recall the distant time we spent together, within the realm of earth._

_It was just a tiny chunk of the great creation._

_Why did she love that little place so much? I asked myself that question every single day. Alas, it was not something I could understand. Now, I only wish I could have taken the opportunity to gaze upon my elder sisters with reverence, I know I should have. My dearest sisters were the ones who lived the very tale within these protected archives. I only hope, that I may justify the murmurs within these dusty tomes. I will say only this; a goddess can indeed love a mortal. _

_She can love him so desperately, that she would fall from grace, simply to be held within his arms. I wish I would have understood sooner._

_Skuld, the book keeper. Norn of the future._

It had been laid out for her, clear as a pristine crystal bay on a glorious afternoon.

She would either become a mortal, or go home. Those were her only two options, and neither of them offered comfort to her sisters, who took both of the solutions with varying levels of strife. Skuld was outraged that her precious sister could even go through the hells of mortality, while Urd was flabbergasted that such an option was heaven's only offered solution.

That, and the fact that Peorth would take Belldandy's place as a Norn for the duration of Belldandy's mortal life, left a sour taste in everyone's mouth.

Belldandy sighed as she thought about the implications of a mortal life, and all that she hadn't experienced. Sure she might have pretended to be mortal, but, it was just an act to a degree. There was only so much of the mortal life she could partake of as a goddess, and, irony be damned, she was usually thankful for that. They were different in every way, right down to their inner workings, and core functionality.

Mortals had to eat, and subsequently remove the leftovers from their body in ways that goddesses never had to contend with. Yes, she enjoyed mortal food and drink, but, her body simply wasn't compatible with the substance. It resulted in the inferior item being obliterated from her inhuman body, without her even thinking twice. In the rare time her body could be compatible with a substance, like some teas she liked, it merely went into her magical energy reserves, which was limitless to particular extents.

If she became a mortal, she knew she'd have to resort to mortal means of consumption and removal, on top of other complexities. The mortal body was an incomplete product of creation, and it was prone to malfunctions on several levels. That detail included far more than simply ailments of the stomach and digestive tracts. It also meant she'd be susceptible to mortal illnesses that didn't have cures, and at the mercy of fate in ways she'd never had to worry about before.

That wasn't the only truth, however…

Dealing with organs wasn't exactly pleasant among mortal women in general anyway, and that was even more reason to detest a mortal woman's body. It made Belldandy cringe, for a variety of reasons, none of which she ever had to suffer as a female goddess. Even childbirth was a gore filled mess that wasn't only painful, it was completely and utterly barbaric at times.

Still, she loved Keiichi. She loved that terribly flawed mortal for all that he was, and could even accept the truths of what he wasn't…and so help her, she wanted to stay with him, and share in his life.

She sighed as she thought about that, and the passionate love he'd made to her that night. Under the stars upon her return, Holybell had taken perch in her soul. Belldandy expected their usual routine, simply cuddling under the night sky, but Keiichi had been confidant last night. Confidant…and so very beseeching of her affections, who was she to deny that?

Belldandy would never dream to say no to this man, who gave far more than he'd ever received. So wrapped up on his embrace, savoring the quiet moments of sky before dawn, she told him about her choice.

"Bell, being mortal isn't all that it's cracked up to be." Keiichi said, as they watched the sun rise, the orange rays of light peeking through a bed of clouds. "In fact, I really wouldn't recommend it." He grabbed the blanket that had shifted during the night, and pulled it up a little higher around himself and Belldandy. There were no prying eyes, but he still had his modesty.

"I don't want to return to heaven." Belldandy told him. "I refuse to go back without you."

Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief that he'd been holding. Since the beginning of the conversion his mind feared the worst. He didn't want to lose her…didn't want to have to say goodbye, but he didn't want to force her to stay either. "What will happen to Holybell?" He asked.

"She will be in my heart, of course." Belldandy replied, that was the part that actually worried her the most. "An angel is part of the soul, and it's where they take perch. Mortals can't commune with their souls like a goddess can with her angel, but, Holybell will still be with me, even as a mortal. I know she and I will be divided in communication…so, I won't have her guidance." She bit her lower lip then. "She'll just be dormant, I suppose."

Keiichi gulped then. "What about…after that…" He looked up towards the sky.

Belldandy offered him a soft nod. "After a mortal death?" She asked him, her eyes looking deeply onto his own, feeling his unease so greatly, that it troubled her.

"Yeah…" He couldn't say it, but he wanted to know.

"I'll return to my life as a goddess." Belldandy replied. "The program will tie my life-force to yours, a doublet for mortals, I guess you could say." With a sigh, she shook her head. "When one of us passes away, Keiichi, the other one will follow. I'll be apprehended in the soul transfer office, and be reinstated as a goddess." She explained what Peorth had told her.

"Can you be satisfied with that?" Keiichi asked her.

"I can't answer that." She told him hesitantly. "I don't know that answer myself. All that I know, is that my life will go back to the way I've always known it to be." Belldandy just shrugged. To be honest, she wasn't entirely sure what to think about that, but it wasn't exactly within her power. "A mortal life is such a short time for a goddess, you could call this merely a vacation of sorts."

"Bell…" He was lost for words. How could he say things correctly? How could he convey his feelings? "I don't want you to suffer." He murmured then, looking away as his throat closed up. "I don't want to expose you to things that…" He shook his head. "Belldandy, this is not a vacation. Sometimes, there's no justifying the things that mortals do. If you become one, you'll have to face that in a way that as a goddess, you're blissfully removed from."

She forced herself to come to terms with the facts. "I don't lose anything by doing this, Keiichi, I've only everything to gain." She wanted to feel safe knowing that she was going to become just like him, and all of her friends on earth…in truth, it didn't comfort her in the slightest. "But, I would be lying if I didn't admit to being terrified."

"So, what scares you?" Keiichi asked then, holding her close to him. Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know what could possibly scare a goddess. He'd seen her true form, and that alone was unsettling, even if he loved her dearly. His eyes were not made to see a ten dimensional being…but, then again, he assumed that was entirely the problem.

"Academically, I understand the plight of mortal women, but to actually live as one?" She shook her head, a bit miffed with how much she didn't understand. "I have to admit, we're too different in cellular structure." It caused her no small amount of embarrassment. "I've never personally experienced what most mortal women are expected to endure."

"I think that you aren't exactly very different, at least, not in spirit." Keiichi said a bit nervously. "That thought crosses my mind a lot actually."

She tried to offer a weak smile. "I know nothing of their emotions, or the emptiness they must feel without having an angel to guide and protect them." Even laying by Keiichi's side made her heart stammer in her chest. "I know nothing of mortal lust, because a goddess is only driven by her feelings of love and procreation. Goddesses have to find meaning in it. Female mortals and demons crave pleasures of the flesh, and put that on a higher spiritual plane." Her cheeks turned pink at that. "Goddesses can't, it isn't within our nature. Even lustful goddesses, are still only answering to a much more complicated power, than we ourselves would never begin to understand."

She released a shaky sigh, trying to drown herself in his warm embrace. "We're not like demons, and we aren't anything like mortals." With all of her fears spilling forth like a wave, she wondered if she was consuming Keiichi in the torrent. She feared that she might be, and yet, continued anyway. "A first class goddess, such as myself, has no inclination to harm others. No reason to outright lie or to steal, or to desire malice on general principle." She knew mortals weren't free from such burdens.

Keiichi could only hold her in his arms, feeling her warm tears and her unsteady breath. He didn't know what he could say to any of that, instead, he felt lost by his goddesses, as she faced the only outcome she could. She would not relent, he knew that. She cared too deeply for him. Keiichi was thankful, because as selfish as it was, he loved her. "Well, if you want to be a mortal, we'll just have to muddle through it together, I guess." He said softly in her ear. "That's all we can do."

"I may not be the same being that you so love." Belldandy said with a small, self-deprecating smile. She needed to see his eyes, and know what he was thinking. "I don't even know if..."

"What is it?" Keiichi murmured.

"Would be the same person I am right now?" Belldandy hadn't the slightest idea, and it petrified her. "I could become vengeful, and spiteful. I might get led down the path of darkness as a mortal."

"Then, that's okay too. I know that even if you fall into darkness, it won't be as bad as you think it will." Keiichi said then after a little bit of thought, brushing away a stray tear with his thumb, watching as it glistened in the sunlight. "Mortals change Belldandy, that's just what we do…but even so, I'd still love you."

"How could you?" Belldandy murmured, sliding back into his embrace. "We have no idea who I might become."

"Because I am a mortal, Bell." Keiichi replied. "It's that easy." She was beautiful, her eyes trailing pure tears down her cheeks. How could he not fall in love with that soul, that so easily wept? That gentle, bright soul. He hadn't any idea. "I promise."

…

Changing her program was no simple task. It put her out cold, and Belldandy would sleep through the entire ordeal. Floating in the unearthly glow of a magical seal, Peorth went about the lengthy process of changing Belldandy's entire structure. Keiichi stood against the wall, keeping his vigil through the night until a late hour had him both yawning, and shaking with nervousness.

"So, you're just going to let her go through with this?" Urd asked, her voice just above a whisper.

"It's not my choice to make." Keiichi said, though there was just a hint of fear lacing his words as he forced his eyes not to close, least he collapse. "It was Belldandy's from the start."

"She's your goddess." Urd said quietly. "That's got to count for something."

"What?" Keiichi asked then, bitterly. "That I might have some control over her?" He shook his head, feeling ever so weak, tired, and just a little afraid. "I don't want to tell her what to do about this." The room was cold, even if the night air just outside the door was a gentle warmth. He shivered, and finally, his eyes began to drift close. "I can only ask that she'll stay by my side...no matter what."

Urd caught him when the light from her hand dissipated, and she carried him to his room. Pushing back his short, messy bangs. It might have been an underhanded trick, but he needed sleep. She took notice of his forehead, and just what it lacked. Her sister would soon be the same, without her markings to speak of just what she was. Urd wasn't completely sure that she was alright with that, and sighed. She had to go to the heavens, and had to find out for herself just what in creation was going on.

She tucked Keiichi into bed, and then slipped through the nearest television she could get to, going to heavens main transport hub. From there, it was only a short jaunt to the chambers of foresight, where she knew she could find her answers. Heaven had many districts, but the chamber of foresight was the one place where she could find the many gods and goddesses who governed over wisdom.

Some tables were filled with young gods and goddesses, asking elders to light their way. Others like her grandfather, Odin, were discussing the future of creation on a more complex level. Tyr was at Odin's side, but Urd chose wisely not to go near that table. Oh no, she needed to go someplace else, and slipped into the back, where she knew she'd find the latest gossip.

Frigga, Minerva, and Juno were tittering on over a cup of tea, as Urd expected.

It was the goddess Juno who lifted her eyes to the now open door. "Well, if it isn't Tyr's eldest." The goddess spoke, her arms wide open as she stood to greet the young goddesses. "Aren't you just stunning? Urd, it's been awhile."

Urd rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Juno, it has." She agreed. "Longer than I thought it would be." These goddesses were adorn in fine silks, though admittedly, some more than others. It made Urd feel out of place, because although she flaunted her beauty, these were women who were still radiant. They could captivate their suitors without even lifting a finger. It was raw, like merely their essence, and Urd felt drawn to them. Purely because of their soft, charismatic charm. "I've been a little busy."

"A little?" Frigga shook her head. "Urd, it's been decades without even a phone call. Can't you even call your poor grandmother every now and then?" The goddesses scolded, before dropping her façade. "It's wonderful to see you, Urd." The woman said, standing from her place. "You should join us for tea, shouldn't she, ladies?"

"Well, of course she should. We have catching up to do." Juno replied, it was clear she wasn't going to allow any other outcome to happen, as she all but dragged Urd to the tea set. "Now then dearie, tell us all about earth!" Juno said excitedly, as she poured her a warm cup of the finest tea in the heavens. "Have you any conquests of which to tell? Please bespeak them, I beg of you."

"She's a goddess of love, not of lust." Frigga told her good friends, eyeing Juno with just a hint of ire. "Urd, please pay them no mind, or at the very least, no adversity."

"Uh, none taken." Urd said then, a bit overwhelmed by the gossip she found herself nearly drowning in. Like the other goddesses at the table, Urd released World of Elegance from her perch so that the angel could join the others at the fountain. "I just…don't really have any conquests...of which to speak." She fumbled through her words, feeling out of place. "I haven't had the time, really."

Juno rolled her eyes at that. "You'll have to excuse me, Urd. As a goddess bound quite tightly to the sanctity of marriage, I'm prone to dry spells." She laughed as she sipped some of her tea. She leaned in, giving Urd a cat-ate-the-canary smile. "I have half a mind to take Aphrodite's advice, and pin that stubborn god of mine to the nearest wall, or mount him during council."

"Those more men." Minerva muttered. "All you ladies seem to do is conspire against them."

"Yes, well when you're wed to crotchety old gods, it's to be expected." Frigga said with a deep frown speaking well of her desire for her husbands attentions. "My Odin's been the same, I fear." She looked over to her granddaughter with a disarming smile. "You see, Urd, a few of heaven's finest deeply believe we should make our expectations quite clear."

"Bastet thinks the ladies of the council should hold a mutiny over the men on a slow afternoon." Juno nodded with a dirty grin. "Show them the real pleasures of a woman scorned."

"Oh good goddess." Urd muttered, she forgot what afternoon tea was like up in the heavens. "That bad, huh?" She offered, though on the inside she was cringing at the mere thought. Some things were best placed out of her mind, especially if her grandmother was involved.

"It's a travesty, I tell you." Juno nodded. "Jupiter won't even look at me right now, and that just simply won't do."

"Must be a hell of a dry spell." Urd offered dryly.

"I believe the poor child has heard quite enough for one day." Minerva finally spoke. "You ladies don't seem to see the truth, do you? Urd comes to us now with her heart in her hands." The goddess of true wisdom among them looked up from her place, she had kept quiet long enough, though, it was not in her nature to speak at length unless required. "Please child, bespeak your concern."

"Don't tell me you haven't heard about it. Belldandy's becoming human." Urd said, now truly feeling uncomfortable. "My own sister, a mortal…" Urd shook her head. "That's just stupid. Hands down, a completely idiotic idea."

Minerva cleared her throat, and offered Urd a kind and gentle smile. "Urd, child of Tyr, I understand the lament that so thoroughly clouds your judgment. I fear however, that you will not find solace among the women at this table." She said as she shooed her owls away, standing from her chair. Unlike the other two goddesses, who found themselves at ease with scantily clad robes, Minerva was much more reserved. "Come Urd, walk with me."

Minerva's job was to foresee the unseen, to known the unknown, and to quell the hearts of those who sought her guidance. She was not the most favored goddess among those of foresight, and she often didn't mind that she was left well enough alone. However, when she was sought out, she could easily gift some of the most forthright advice, with the kindness to match it. She took Urd into a different room, away from prying eyes and ears, and took Urd's hands within her own.

"You suffer for her, I know." Minerva said slowly. "However, young goddess, you've nothing to fear. We've chosen this because Belldandy seeks this path. Her heart beats so strongly for it. I assure you, she will only become a better goddess when she returns to these heavens and reclaims her place."

"You seem so sure that this is the right path." Urd said, her voice growing weak with emotion, her eyes falling to the floor. She could not look at the goddess in front of her. This woman was one of her many tutors, and Urd felt a sense of shame. "Have I been forgotten, because I have the blood of a demon running through me?"

"Urd, dear child, do not shy away from that which you fear." Minerva replied softly, as she cupped Urd's cheek, feeling the well of sadness that lingered within. "Do not sequester a heart that quivers, do not run from the things you seek." Her thumb ran over the marking if the goddess, markings that would not linger for eternity. No, those were marks for only young ones, and deities as old as Minerva herself had attained true enlightenment. The seals bespoke of the young age, of the life that Urd had yet to live. "Bespeak them. Call to them. Only then, will the answers come."

"Minerva, I can't." Urd said, daring to open her eyes, forcing herself to look into the brown orbs of the woman who had been proclaimed as a virgin since the day she became a goddess. "You wouldn't understand."

"Dear child." Minerva said with a sad smile. "I would indeed." She kissed Urd atop her forehead. "Your day for love will come, of that I'm sure." She brushed away a tear that her beseeching gaze drew from within Urd's truest emotions. "However, child, when it does, you will face surely face the judgment gate. When that day comes, hold faith that you will find happiness, and you will see that all will be well."

"How can you know that?" Urd murmured, her throat dry, and her mind staggering.

"I know because it is my place to know." Minerva told her. "I know, because you are not a virgin's soul." She explained in a hushed murmur. "You are young, like many goddesses before you, and you must await your time to come." With a hint of a blush on her cheeks, Minerva found herself a bit embarrassed to report the next part of her reading. "Urd, if the loneliness becomes too unbearable, there are gods and goddesses alike who would greet your crying soul with passion and warmth. They would breathe a new light and hope onto you, if only you would ask."

"I'm not looking for a fling." Urd said with a shake of her head. "I couldn't do that."

"It has nothing to do with a fling." Minerva replied, her voice insistent. "It has everything to do with finding the key to your innermost soul." She ran her fingers gently through Urd's long tendrils of silvery tresses. "Speak with Aphrodite, I beg you."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_I think it would be best to state, that during such a time, I was not within the best mindset to look after my sister. I didn't seek to watch her suffer, nor did I seem to care about the implications surrounding her imminent future. All I could think of, was that we three sisters seemed scorned, and that was not a truth that I was willing to amuse. However, I was powerless to be of any true help._

_As it is foretold by scriptures;_

_A goddess's prayer was heard, crying through the heavens, begging for solace. The almighty gods granted the wish that echoed within the depths of her soul, and so, the goddess became a mortal woman. Without ill intent, the former deity awoke to a new day without her angel, and without her powers. Lost, and terrified, like babe from the womb, her eyes cried innocent and pure tears, as her mother held her close. The mighty goddess, Anzasu, blessed her child from the bottom of her soul, before she disappeared, leaving the young woman behind._

_The reborn was lost from purity. She sang to the songbirds, and they fluttered away. She tried to feed the mice, but they hid from her gaze. She could not speak to the souls of the forest, nor bless the trees because she was a forsaken deity._

_I however, remember things differently…hauntingly._

_Belldandy tried to reclaim some of her old life, but it was to no avail. Destined to love a mortal man, as only a mortal woman could, she could no longer see the spirits, or hear the voice of the wind. Let it be said, that the trials of mortals are many, some are simply far too grand for even the heavens to comprehend. Belldandy not only had to comprehend the scorn that befell mortal beings, she had to endure it._

_Urd, protector of the well. Norn of the past._

In the warm glow of the unearthly light, she became mortal. Peorth left soon after her deed was complete, without waking the sleeping woman. She would need to return to the heavens to finish working with Yggdrasil, and felt it best for Belldandy to rest. It was for that selfsame reason, that when first light came, Skuld and Anzasu all but pushed Keiichi out of the house, encouraging him to have a good day at class.

For a few hours, there was little more than stillness.

When Belldandy finally awoke, she was alone in her own room. Covered with a blanket, she wasn't even permitted her usual night clothes. Instead, she found herself swimming in an all too large gown. Something told her that her other garb had vanished sometime during the night. She reached for the mirror, her markings were gone, yet her face remained otherwise the same. No unearthly glow, and lacking radiance, but she was still herself. Without a doubt, she could take comfort in the small truth.

With that, a sigh of relief that she wasn't some odd deranged monster, changed into a gasp of realization.

When she closed her eyes, she could feel her heart beating, and yet, she couldn't hear her angel. In slight panic, she called for her, to no avail. When she placed a hand over her heart, she felt only a smidgen of comfort. There was something from beneath the long, white gown she'd been placed in. There was a familiarity there, and it allowed her to take a breath she didn't know she had been holding in.

She could feel a heartbeat in her chest where there wasn't one before.

"Oh, Holybell…" Her angel sat around her neck, protected by her egg. "Please, forgive me." Belldandy's chest felt heavy, and her limbs grew cold. Sighing out a shaky breath, she closed her eyes to locate the others, but couldn't feel other goddesses anymore. She knew Skuld had to be someplace around the shrine, bust she couldn't grasp hold of the link between her sisters. That would be troublesome, but it was expected.

The clock indicated that it was well past noon, and the sun was high in the sky.

She had slept through the night, and most of the day, but now her powers were gone. She was no longer the first class goddesses she once was, and she began to tremble ever so slightly, knowing that what was done would not be reversed. For as long as she and Keiichi shared their lives as one, she would remain in this form. A silent scream tore through her. She felt mute, and as though she were suffocating.

"Do not cry." The soft command was filled with love, and the woman who stood before her seemed to shine with such a perfect light from within. Though Belldandy saw the woman, and knew who she was, her mind could not move past the slow crawl it had become. "Do not weep, my child." The goddess said again, coming to kneel at Belldandy's side. "You will be fine."

With tears at the edges of her eyes, she forced herself to breath. Seeing immortality as a human made Belldandy fearful, and she began to understand the true nature of the immortal life she once had at her disposal. "Oh good goddess." She began to feel queasy, and grabbed the wastepaper basket. The innate reflex of her gut made itself known, as she wretched from the memories that began to pour through her.

Her mother could only shake her head and sigh. "At least you understand how Keiichi felt." She rid herself of her spiritual light, and reformed herself a bit more carefully. She came to stand by her child and put a knowing hand on Belldandy's shoulder. "Holybell will wait for your return to divinity. Please, Belldandy, fear not."

"Mother, what have I become?" She asked, petrified of these new and very tangible feelings as they seemed to rip through her, one by one, little by little.

"A woman." Anzasu replied. "Belldandy, you've become nothing more than what you already were. A young woman who seeks the heart of a man." Like a mother hen fawning over her little chick, Anzasu brushed a few strands of hair behind Belldandy's ear, and held her in her arms. "Mortals suffer difficult trials, and I've no doubt that you will suffer through them. They will make you strong, they will fill you with light."

"How will I know what to do without Holybell's guidance?" Belldandy murmured, still terrified, utterly lost and feeling so very weak. Her world was spinning, as she fought to find her balance within the universe. It seemed as if parts of her knowledge suffered being plucked away from her mind with tweezers, while others seemed to be drilled in. "I feel like I'm losing my sanity."

"She's right here Bell." Anzasu said, putting a hand over Belldandy's heart. "Close your eyes, and listen for her. Even if her voice does not speak, you will find the answers to your questions." Anzasu forced herself to back away, and give her child some space. "The pain will be gone soon, I promise."

Belldandy wanted her lover by her side, because truth be told, the woman in front of her was not as comforting a sight as she should have been "Where's Keiichi?" She asked then, feeling another wave of pain hammer its way into her head.

"I had Skuld send him on his way." She told her child. "He woke up worrying over you, but, that simply won't do." With a sad smile, she regarded the young, mortal woman. Truly, she never did understand the creatures, and gazing at Belldandy now, offered absolutely no clarity. "He'll have the rest of his life to toil by your side, caring for you in sickness, and standing beside you in health. I do not have that sort of time, I'm afraid, so forgive my cruelty. It was merely a mother's whim and little more."

Belldandy shook her head. "Forgive me, but this is all just too much." She was used to vast information pouring into her head at any given time, and now, she realized that she found herself retardant to the greater universe. "It must be because of what the mortals think of as their brain. I can't seem to keep up with the vast intellectual code that we use. It's as if I'm only pulling in a tiny fraction of the sensory perception that I should be."

"I see." Anzasu replied slowly. "I wish I could offer you a much greater understanding than mere spoken word, but you know from dealing with Keiichi, the programming will not make sense to you."

"Even spoken word leaves much to be translated by my own two ears." Belldandy felt lost. Totally and completely lost. "I do hope I grow accustomed to this soon."

"Likely this has to do with the final touches to your programming." Anzasu dearly wished it too, but there was no way of knowing just how long such a thing could last. "As a mortal, even a blessed one, you will not have easy time trying to contact the heavens above. Know that I love you, Belldandy. I always have, and I always will. Enjoy your time here on earth, learn from it, and become a better goddess." Anzasu begged. "Please, my child, do that much."

…

Skuld was on edge all morning, and well into the afternoon. When she smelled something off-putting coming from the kitchen, her first thought was that Urd was up to no good, or that Lind was trying, and failing, to cook something. Skuld wouldn't have been surprised in either case. Even Peorth was prone to starting fires when she was around, competing for the attention of others. Nervously, she reached out her very being, to feel for the other goddesses. A mild shock slid across her face. She couldn't believe the truth of the matter, though she dearly wished she could come up with an easier explanation.

Their mother had likely gone home. There simply wasn't any goddesses other than herself at the temple right now. "Big sis, are you alright?" Skuld asked, raising an eyebrow, as she took a peek around the corner.

"Yes, everything's fine." Belldandy's smile was weak as she ran her hand under some cold water. "I merely burnt my fingers on a cooking pot, and I forgot about the cake in the oven."

Skuld went over to the cooking surface, eyeing the boiling stew with a bit of confusion. "Um, you've never actually burned yourself before…not like that." She almost wondered if there was some sort of demon vegetable someplace on the inside. "Are you sure this is safe to eat?"

"I wouldn't be cooking if I thought it would do anyone harm." Belldandy went back to stirring the pot, this time, using a potholder. "I forgot that I'm compatible with worldly items now. I'm able to burn my fingers on the stovetop." She offered Skuld a shrug. It was a new learning experience every day. "As a first class goddess, I could never be hurt by basic elements. This will take some getting used to."

"Lucky." Skuld said crossing her arms. "Anytime I travel into something really hot, I still get burned."

"Second class goddesses don't normally have issues with elements either." Belldandy replied slowly. As she began transferring some meat she had browned in the skillet over to the pot, she took great care not to burn herself again. "You've just got to work on controlling your powers more, that's all. You'll get there one day."

"Yeah, I guess." Skuld wasn't convinced, but as she studied Belldandy for the countless time since her sister had become a mortal, she couldn't help but be confused. Her sister seemed the same, and yet, she felt so different. It made Skuld dizzy, she just wasn't used to mortals, even if she lived with them. "How do you remember all of that stuff?"

Belldandy gave her sister a sideways glance. "I'm not the first goddess to become a human. Through the eons, immortals and mortals have coexisted. There was once a time, log ago, that they could procreate with each other and stand as equals to some degree." She said.

"That's nice and all, but that still doesn't answer my question." Skuld implored. "Why haven't they erased your heavenly memory bank?"

"Since this is only temporary, it probably isn't worth it the effort to seal my memory. Mortals don't live very long, so it's highly likely that they don't see the point." In her mind, her future struggles ran wild, and when she was positive that dinner would not burn, she found a place to sit, and opened up one of Keiichi's school books. "So much to learn, so little time to learn it in." She murmured, feeling overwhelmed.

She had a grand understanding of mechanics, and a plethora of languages at her disposal. Even if she wasn't as gifted as Skuld, who could put life into the machines she built, Belldandy could very easily fix a car or a motorbike all on her own. She could even do it without her powers. She'd taken interest in earthly hobbies as a child, and living on the planet only helped to solidify her love for such things.

It might have seemed silly, and she remembered a few goddesses who teased her over it. Still, Belldandy was insistent as a child. It was also a hobby that Skuld attached herself to as soon as Belldandy had opened the door to it. In fact, the youngest Norn favored her machines over her powers. She built them by hand, instead of with magic. Belldandy felt just the slightest tinge of jealously over that. "You know Skuld, in some ways, I think you understood mortals better than I ever could."

"That's crazy." Skuld replied. "You've always liked mortals, and mortal things. It's been that way ever since I can remember."

"That's true." Belldandy relented, still not taking faith in those words. Now she was thankful for her youthful stubbornness, because those selfsame hobbies could put food on the table. "Skuld, you don't suppose that the universities found here on earth are withholding information, do you?"

Looking up from one of her blueprints, Skuld nipped at the bottom of her lip. "I think, humans have more potential than they realize. I think most of them are just weak. If they give up before they understand what they have in front of them, they won't ever make discoveries. Maybe it's because they can't understand…I don't know." Skuld looked back down at her work, and then put down the pencil she had been using. "Big sis, what does it feel like?"

Belldandy's breath caught in her throat. "I truly sense things the way they do." Belldandy replied with a soft gulp. "It feels strange to feel the pangs of hunger, and know that deep within my heart, it isn't just because I uploaded a program to tell me when to eat." She offered Skuld a sad little smile. "If I don't eat, I'll actually starve and die." In shame she looked away, she just couldn't look Skuld in the eyes. "Before, I was so interested in them, I wanted to be like them. Now, I realize how fragile a mortal really is." Felling the burn on her fingers licking away at her, only further served as that truth.

Skuld smirked. "Well, you always tell me to treat them like glass, so that I won't hurt or break them." That's why her bombs were so weak, they were all for show, and little more. They couldn't hurt a mortal, not really. Skuld had designed them that way.

"They're more fragile than even glass Skuld." Belldandy sighed. "They're resilient because they must be, but I can feel the wave of uncertainty that settles within my heart, and I realize, they must have to deal with that feeling every day. Knowing that they will never truly know what the next hour will hold, they will never truly understand the universe that they stand in." She shook her head, it was so confusing. "That they have to make the best of life, like this, is merely astounding to me."

"You shouldn't have become a mortal." Skuld replied, a worried edge in her voice.

Belldandy let out a small, embarrassed laugh. "It's eerily beautiful, Skuld."

…

It was strange to know the spirits of the earth were always by her side, always waiting for the orders of the immortals who governed them. Elementals were not beings that would always act of their own accord, even if they seemed to blend in flawlessly to their surroundings. The truth of the matter was that they simply didn't care about lower life forms, and didn't care to give mortals any mind at all.

They often waited for the attentions of more powerful beings. Having lost her power, she'd also lost their respect, and as a result, she knew she would be subjected to their wrath if she provoked their ire. If the elements had truly wanted to harm her, they could have simply splashed boiling water all over her, or flared up as soon as she turned the burner on.

Instead, they gave her all of the attention, or lack thereof, that they gave most other creatures they deemed worthless.

It wasn't exactly something she could say to Keiichi. She sat mutely as he applied burn cream to the tips of her fingers. "It's going to blister for sure." He sighed at her, feeling responsible. "I knew I should have stayed home today."

Belldandy shook her head. "Skuld was right to chase you out of here." She told him resolutely. She refused to become his burden. "You have to continue to live the routine we've built for ourselves. That means going to school, even when I can't." Then she sighed, looking down at her bandaged hand. "I simply need to put into consideration just how my role has changed, and what I'm unable to do. I'll figure things out, Keiichi, I promise."

"I don't doubt that, Bell." If anything, he firmly believed that she would be just fine, if given a few days to sort out the details of her limitations. "This is going to be an adjustment for all of us. I just want to be here for you, support you in any way that I can."

Biting at her lower lip, Belldandy felt just a bit strange when he stood up to change his clothes. "Then, please, help me maintain some sense of normalcy." She begged as she averted her eyes. There was something about gazing at him that seemed to send a small shiver of glee down her spine. The feeling was a confusing one, and she wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. "It seems to be lacking around here at the moment."

"I hate to tell you this, Bell, but our lives just aren't normal. They never have been, and probably won't ever be." He laughed then as he thought about everything that had gone on in his life. He nodded his agreement anyway. "I'll do whatever you need me to do."

He wasn't a scrawny man by any means, and even if he wasn't rock solid, Belldandy had always found him to be a good looking man, in his own ways. Such a thought usually warmed her heart, but letting herself raise her gaze back to him was a glorious mistake. It sent fire into very being. Sensations that were not known to her, were beginning to make themselves known.

She'd seen him naked plenty of times, but it hadn't ever caused her to feel so unsteady, as if the very world around her was being turned upside down. Instantly, she realized the beginning of the feeling, and sighed, closing her eyes. It made a blush tinge her cheeks and a hint of shame followed along as she cleared her throat.

A mortal's lust.

The feeling made her lick her lips, a heated breath slipping from between them. Without thinking, she clutched her hand and gasped as pain shot through it. Ironically she was thankful for it. "Well, that's disconcerting."

"Are you alright?" He asked her, a deep concern lacing his brown eyes.

"Yes." She smiled. "I'm fine Keiichi, a little confused perhaps, but just fine." She looked down at her hand and slowly opened it. "Mortals are truly uncanny." She looked up to him, thankful he was finally, fully dressed in pajamas. "I think I'll go make some soothing tea before bed."

"I'll make the tea." Keiichi insisted, since he was up anyway. "I don't want you toying around with boiling water tonight, today's been taxing enough as it is. I can see the tired look in your eyes." As if another thought came to mind, he paused. "I'll be right back." He worried for her health, unsure of how immortals saw to their needs…he knew however, that Belldandy would need someone to look out for her health. He wondered if Urd could do it, but, he also feared that she wouldn't know enough.

He prepared a tray of tea, and carefully brought it back to the room, offering Belldandy a cup. As she thanked him, she noticed the worry in his eyes, and begged of him to speak about that which so troubled him. "I was just thinking, you're prone to injury, to illness…" He forced himself to find strength in his voice. "Are you able to turn to Urd when you get sick, or are we going to have to rely on earthy means?"

"The doctors on earth are qualified to treat humans aren't they?" She asked him, as if that made total and complete sense.

"That's a complicated topic." He wondered if he could talk to her about it, and found with once glance to her bandaged hand, that he'd had no choice. "To inoculate, or not to inoculate, for example. Just like you guys have vaccines and virus protocols, we have things similar, but for them to work, you have to get it before you come in contact with viruses. Not everyone gets them, or agrees with them, but if they do, they start young."

"While it's true that Urd isn't exactly a doctor, she is an administrator to Yggdrasil, and you could say that's the next best thing." Belldandy seemed wishy-washy, but finally she settled with a nod. "She would be able to look up any human ailment within the database, and know instantly how to remedy the situation."

"I'm sensing a huge 'but' someplace in the middle of that." Keiichi murmured, unsure if he liked the sound of it.

"Knowing how to remedy a situation, and being permitted, are two entirely different things." Belldandy shrugged then. "For most situations, common colds and the like, we know she can be helpful. Surface injuries are the same, as they pose very little threat to altering the course of life. Goddesses are also permitted to act as midwives, as the creation of life is a blessing of the immortals." It was when she averted her eyes that she spoke of the bad news. "However, goddesses shouldn't ever intervene when it would change a mortal's life indefinitely. Serious illness, dangerous injuries, and even possible death could not be thwarted, even if she wanted to. The only clause to that rule, is in the case of the immortals causing the misfortune directly."

"So, like if Mara or Hild let loose a string of misfortune that made everyone really sick." Keiichi said, trying to understand. "Urd could treat that."

"If it was unearthly and fatal, yes." Belldandy nodded. "However earth realm illnesses are fair game."

…

The next day was a gloomy day, as rain poured from the sky. If Belldandy didn't know any better, she would think that her mother was just crying that hard. It wasn't possible for one goddess to make such a downpour from mere tears, but, she knew her mother was likely someplace being dramatic anyway. It was in her nature, even if she didn't admit it.

As another droplet plopped onto her head, Belldandy sighed. The roof could use a repair again, she noted. It was probably one too many bolts, brought on by her sisters and their horrendous tempers. She shivered, and scooted over a bit, putting down a cup to catch the drips as she shivered a little.

It was odd, perhaps, to see Belldandy wrapped up in anything that wasn't her own. Yet, she took to curling up in Keiichi's baggy clothes when he wasn't around. Because he was so much shorter than she was, not much fit. However, he did have a particularly baggy shirt with the N.I.T. logo on the front of it. It was an extra-large, and he was no more than a medium when it came to shirt sizes. Still, it smelled like him, and of the soft sandal wood scent found within the clubroom.

She tucked her knees into the shirt, and then took a sip of her much delighted beverage, tea, that had been poured into a large mug. Her eyes wandered over to her notepad and pencil. She'd been scrawling out notes for her class, now quite aware that she had to do more than just pretend to be a student. She had to dive into the books head first, and work hard enough to deal with the concepts that before, were merely child's play.

Engineering was a complex trade, and Belldandy had a lot to learn about particular limitations. She also had a paper to complete, and this was one dissertation that she couldn't just snap into existence with a flick of her fingers like before. Truth be told, she knew much more than any book could possibly explain, but, she also knew too much.

So much, in fact, that she had to be careful not to jot something down that wouldn't be discovered for decades to come. The houselights flickered, causing Keiichi to curse loudly. "Damn, that's it!" He shouted as the power came back on. "I'm buying a laptop."

Belldandy just shook her head as the lights flickered again. There was no ill-intended weather to speak of. Merely rainfall, but it wasn't angry by any means. "Skuld, please be mindful of Keiichi when he's doing his homework." Belldandy requested, as she looked down the hall. An odd light was coming from one of the rooms. "Skuld?"

No answer came, and so Belldandy went to see what the commotion was about, only be greeted with a sight that made her take pause. The young Norn wasn't in her bedroom. "What on earth?" Belldandy said, looking into Keiichi's office, where Urd looked worse for wear, and Keiichi lamented over his broken computer monitor.

"I'm going to murder Peorth." Urd grumbled, with distaste.

"Is she the reason you just came out of my homework assignment?" Keiichi deadpanned, a trickle of ire lacing his voice. He wasn't sure whether to go on a rampage, or crumble to the floor in dismay.

"Relax, Keiichi." Skuld said, as she tinkered around with the monitor. "It's salvageable. She didn't actually fry the computer. She just blew up the screen. You can use my monitor." She told him. "I'll be right back."

Urd was too worn out to care what she'd done to the screen. She was far more engrossed with the fact that Belldandy's face lacked her markings, and, that she didn't sense Holybell anymore. "We completed the program transfer." Urd said, still unhappy about sharing any sort of link with Peorth. "The problem is, she isn't actually a Norn. Peorth's just a temporary replacement, so our powers are buggy."

"Well, they better get un-buggy." Skuld said as she carried in a new monitor. "Big sis can't use her powers now, so you can't go around screwing everything up."

"The same goes for you." Urd shot back. "You can't be dilapidating the house, or building machines that'll backfire."

"Don't argue, please." Belldandy begged, stepping between the sisters. "No flinging magic, either."

"Why not?" Skuld asked, already thinking of conjuring a ball of water to sling at Urd's face.

The oldest and youngest in the household shared a facedown, angry glints in their eyes. The sisters looked to Belldandy and sighed. They couldn't even fight anymore to release their frustrations.

"That…" Urd said pointing to Belldandy's face, and what it seemed to lack. "That's the reason we have to deal with Peorth as a link. Deal with it Skuld." More than just a little angry, Urd dusted herself off. "Belldandy can't repair the things we destroy anymore…and on top of that, you could hurt her…maybe even kill her if you aren't careful." She couldn't get into a good argument with Skuld anymore, and that just riled Urd up more. "I'm going out."

Skuld looked down to the second monitor that was on the floor. "Keiichi, you can have that." She said, as she took the old, broken one into her arms carefully. "Consider it a trade." She tried to look strong. She tried so very hard to make it out of the room without falling into tears, but as soon as she got into the hallway, they spilled over.

It would be condescending for a mortal such as herself, to try and comfort her sisters, even if they were family. Belldandy couldn't feel the depth of their agony, and without such a gift, she knew should would only be dealing with the surface of their emotions. That was a dangerous practice among all immortals, since their emotions were the one thing that so drove their powers.

Her sisters would have to remain in control of themselves for a change, and they both seemed to understand that. Belldandy was unsure of just what that meant, but she had her own, greater struggles that they couldn't help her with. That was also an unsettling piece of information.

As she watched Keiichi salvage his assignment that he had thankfully saved only a few paragraphs beforehand, she shook herself out of her trance. "Keiichi?" She spoke his name quietly, and released the baited breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Do you recall just the other day, when we were discussing the near future?"

"Yeah, it was a big weight off of my mind." He said, turning away from his project to glance up at her. "Why, what's up?"

"Well now I seem to be the unfortunate one with such unfounded worries." She replied, berating herself. "I was writing my assignment out, long hand, and I came to the conclusion that I've been cheating this entire time."

"Bell…" He began, only to see her shake her head.

"I'm not a goddess anymore, Keiichi." She cut him off, knowing what he was going to say. What he was going to imply. "I don't have the luxury to think along those lines." She sat down next to him demurely. "Now, I'm not merely a spectator to mortal life, I'm trapped in the body of a mortal shell." She felt unbearably confused. "How can I justify that, or any future beyond the life we currently live? I haven't earned that degree, I won't be able to utilize its full potential."

"Is that what this is about?" Keiichi scratched the back of his head, thinking about that. It didn't make any difference to him. "Bell, university degrees aren't like goddess licenses. It doesn't matter that you have them, only that you can use the information you've learned to do something." He looked over at his assignment. "The degree is just a piece of paper. Urd could blow it up, but as long as you know everything you need to know, that's all that really matters."

"Then, what are we going to do after graduation." Belldandy asked slowly.

"I'm going to go back, for my master degree." Keiichi said then. "You can do whatever you want to do, either way, it'll work out."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This chapter brings this to an M rating, due to serious topics that some people may, or may not agree with, dependent on personal beliefs. In some places the use of contraception at all simply isn't accepted, for a multitude of reasons though religion is one of them, and I foresaw this being a real discussion between Belldandy and Keiichi, since the idea of procreation, and the prevention of it, it is sort of a large plot element in the manga.

I think timing is a central issue, not only on a "Norn" level, but also a race against time that a goddess may not think she has. I also believe that Keiichi has a much more realistic grasp of life, and the requirements of finding that balance. I foresee that aspect of "time" as a fatal character flaw in Belldandy when it came to the series. She either has too much time, or, simply not enough…

**Chapter 6**

_So, as a mortal woman, I had to live on._

_Time was like sand, lost to the depths of the deepest ocean. Unrecoverable and unreachable, passing seconds made me feel rushed as I struggled to find my place as a mortal. As moments slipped through my fingers, I could not hold onto them. To be honest, it was a frightening reality that I dared not to think about. I wrapped myself within my love's arms. I sought shelter within his warmth, and began to feel the passions that burned deeply within a mortal's heart. Inevitably, that led to imminent confusion and frustration at the time._

_However, my struggles though difficult, were not the most interesting event of that time, though, I'm sure my sisters would disagree. In fact, my elder sister Urd, would likely shake her head at me with rigorous discontent. Despite that, I can't tell a lie. I was not the only one to feel lost within the pit of my soul. __Both of my sister also felt some sort of irreplaceable loss during that time. Peorth stood in as my replacement, but, I think that was ill planned. _

_Perhaps her bond with them simply wasn't strong enough. We will never truly know. Yet, the events of those times are to be cherished. I will never regret them, and, I'm sure we share that opinion._

_As the teachings bespeak;_

_Future and Past clung hand in hand, seeking a bridge that was not tangible to their souls. While one stepped forward, the other stepped back, until their link was lost within the void where the present once stood. The future was angry, and sought to fight. The past was terrified, and hid within the depths of the shadows._

_Belldandy, the whisperer in the wind. Norn of the Present._

While it was true that the immortals of the heavens were not strictly monogamous, there weren't many deities that took pride in having an entire host of bedfellows. Even so, young gods and goddesses alike lived for far too long to spend their years alone, and the complexities of heaven were not limited to simply age, power, and birthright.

Though, all of those things held a heavy hand in the natural order of how things ran, they were not the end all, nor be all, of the greater unity of creation.

Aphrodite considered that as she covered up a much younger goddess than herself, a pupil of hers, and then reached over to her nightstand to pour herself a fine glass of red wine. There was something alluring about the taste of the substance when taken after a passionate frolic between the sheets. She couldn't quite pinpoint what exactly that was, but she also didn't care to. As a goddess of love and passion, she was a private tutor to young maidens who sought something, and yet knew not what.

To understand one's own heart was not something a youth could do alone, and, communing with angels was also a difficult thing. Her heart was large enough to guide these young souls, and, offer them some womanly advice. She would take any apprentice, god or goddess, and show them the ways of the heart. She was as much a tutor and mentor, as she was a bedfellow. Some might have found that odd, but then again, heaven was an odd place.

Love was both a powerful shield, and, a deadly weapon.

It was also a very frightening thing, so, it was her job to see that those often addled souls found their solace. She was not the only goddess of her kind, and there were many others that offered such guiding hands. However, it was her door that echoed through the halls on this late night, so it was her fate to answer it. Such a thing was her calling, a sworn oath that she considered as much a calling, as it was an honored duty.

After all, how many other goddesses could say that they protected heaven's youth from even themselves?

She didn't bother to throw on her robe within her appointed post, and merely dragged herself out of bed to answer the door. This was a den of iniquity at its finest, and the groans of passionate lovers made that well known. In the faintly lit hall, she took notice of the warmth of the room. The air was just the right temperature for meandering about scantily clad. Her own abode had three bedrooms in it, just in case she had several rounds of company in one evening.

"Urd? Oh my, well this is a surprise." Aphrodite said as she ushered the goddess before her into her area of the heavens, closing the door behind her. "Please, do sit down." The goddess offered, rethinking her idea of modesty, as she pulled a long white cloth that she kept near the door for just such occasions.

"Sorry I came on such short notice." Urd said as she found herself perched at the edge of a long sofa.

"Think nothing of it." Aphrodite waved Urd's concern off with a flick of her hand, as she came to sit by Urd's side. "You know I hardly sleep." She replied, as she tied the thin fabric closed. "You however, do, last I recall."

"That's true." Urd said with a small nod of agreement. "You know, I've never been very good at this whole, trusting others thing." Urd said then, standing to leave, when she felt a powerful hand on her shoulder.

"Urd." Aphrodite ordered gently. "Sit." Something was indeed troubling the young goddess, and so, Aphrodite took to her usual measures. Hot tea and lighting a few scented candles. "Now then, something addles your mind. Such a deeply seeded concern brought you here, to my domain. It begs a question or two, don't you agree?" She gently put her hand on Urd's knee and smiled. "I understand that it's easier for you to share your body than it is to share your mind, but you can trust me."

"Can I?" Urd murmured with a sigh, feeling foolish for the mere doubt.

"I've never judged you before, I don't intend to start now." Aphrodite returned.

Urd knew all of that was indeed little more than truth, and she knew she could take comfort in that. "You're right." Urd replied, tactfully sipping on her tea as she considered that little detail for all that it was. "I didn't exactly choose to come here mind you, rather, it was foretold."

Aphrodite took interest in that, perking up a little. "Is that so?" She asked, leaning forward, her eyes of perfect crystal blue glittering expectantly. "Who might dare to preordain such a visit, pray tell?"

Urd shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, you know how it is." She said, skirting the subject. "I'm sure they had something else in mind, rather than a little chat."

"Well that depends…" The blond goddess explained tensely, as she pulled her silken cloth a little more tightly around herself, even though her ample bosom threatened to escape the confines at a moment's notice.

"On?" Urd muttered, stull wanting to flee.

"Whoever sent you here, of course." Aphrodite said it plainly. "Speaking of, if you aren't here of your own accord, who recommended that we speak at any length?"

"Minerva told me to seek a goddess in your particular realm of expertise." Urd said then, while looking away. Aphrodite was a sight to behold while fully clothed, but when Urd knew she was naked underneath that thin cloth that was only tied off in one corner…well, it intimidated her. "Out of all of my tutors in this subject, you're the only one who's actually seen me drunk."

It was the undercurrent of those words that meant the most…

"I know your mind well, at least, I'd like to think." Aphrodite nodded, indeed recalling several of Urd's darker confessions. "That's also why you've come to me now, desperate to find answers that you can't simply take at face value." Aphrodite sighed, pulling her long golden hair away from her face, and pulled it up into a simple, yet elegant braid, just to keep it away from her eyes. She wanted to see into Urd perfectly, without any distraction at all. "Minerva's words displease you?"

Urd offered a nonchalant shrug. "She just says that my true heart is locked away." With a nervous laugh, she tried to deny her worst fears. "She says that when I do find love, I'll face the gate." Urd didn't want to believe that. "You know what that implies, right?"

"That you won't find love with a god or goddess of heavenly accord." Aphrodite offered simply.

Urd rolled her eyes. "It won't be a demon."

Aphrodite merely smiled a soft, gentle smile. "Urd, I have tried very hard to teach you to love others without fear." Aphrodite began. "However, you are a goddess who embodies the past, and like other goddesses with such a namesake, you share their vice." She turned Urd to face her. Crystal blue eyes met those of deeply shinning lavender. "You fear change, Urd. You fear the changes within yourself, within the world around you, and what your future may hold." She shook her head. "I recall when you first came to me, a small goddess, not yet within her first eon of age."

"Don't remind me of that." Urd muttered, her face tinging pink. She had many memories of those times. Her childhood was often spent among tutors, and Aphrodite, most of all. Especially during Urd's renegade adolescence when there was never enough booze to quell her racing mind. How many times had she found herself crying into this woman's shoulder? How many times had she begged for forgiveness? Yet, most troubling of all, how many times, had this goddess welcomed her into her bed, when she felt as if no one else ever would? "That was a long time ago."

"It was not so long ago. I will speak it as plainly as I recall it." Aphrodite said pointedly. "You feared yourself and others even then. You had just received your angle, and you banished her." Aphrodite shook her head. "I recall when I first began to meet with you. I was so terribly confused."

"I don't understand why." Urd said then, brushing off her discomfort.

"We goddesses are entitled to our vanity and our insecurities. Everyone has something that discomforts them." Aphrodite said with a distinct edge. "You however, were a special case." It demanded that Urd pay close attention, yet there was not an ounce of malice at all to be found. "You weren't afraid of growing older, or developing a need for deeper love, or learning the ways of a heavenly body." Aphrodite said as she let all of her words sink into Urd, like the antidote she hoped they would one day be. "You were afraid of what you thought you'd grow into. You still fear who you might become."

"If you were half demon, you would too." Urd groused, taking a moment to steady her breath. "My sisters and I have always attracted some sort of trouble, but this is just nuts. Are we just fated to be screwed over by fate?"

"I wouldn't know." Aphrodite replied, taken aback from the question. She, like all much older immortals, had some level of clairvoyance, as it was a learned trait. However, such a question was not within her jurisdiction. "I don't see the unseen, nor predict the unknown."

"What would you have me do?" Urd asked then, finally letting the wall she kept up drop, shattering like glass around her.

"Urd, you are not the tearful, not to mention frightened, young goddess that I met almost four eons ago." Aphrodite replied slowly. "I wouldn't proclaim to know how to deal with the fears that so encompass you. I dare say, there's no cure for it, because it is who you are." With that in mind however, Aphrodite knew the truth, this woman was her protégé, and needed that much from her. "I would offer you my sincerest touch, proof that you are not the monster you fear you are, but, I know that you will decline."

"Would I?" Urd asked shakily.

"You will." Aphrodite nodded. "Because that is simply the type of goddess that you are." Aphrodite murmured as she stood. "Still, it is far too late to send you back to earth at the moment, so I will offer you to join me in a bath, and then we can retire for the night. It has been far too long since we last spoke."

"You're too good to me." Urd sighed.

"Sometimes, I fear I've not taken enough care to tutor you." Aphrodite admitted. "Nights such as this lay claim to that." Without giving it a second thought, the blond goddess produced a bottle of wine, as well as two glasses. "Now then, you'll forgive me if I don't drink hard liquor, but last I recall, you did enjoy a good chardonnay."

…

While Urd went to heaven to speak at length with Aphrodite, life on earth never ceased to find some new way to addle Belldandy. University was never a challenge before now, and she realized being a regular student was much more complicated than she'd ever given Keiichi credit for.

"Well this is just a bit unfortunate." Belldandy sighed, admitting defeat. She put away her school work book and gazed at the project she was forced to work on. Her graduation assignment wasn't going well, and she needed a much deserved break, distance distance from her fixation would give her insight into an answer. "Solar energy just isn't in its prime yet, I fear."

"Careful, if you augment that panel anymore, you'll be breaking a few rules." Skuld warned her. She looked at Belldandy's failed attempt at homework with a keen eye, and then she shook her head. "Go with batteries, or, maybe just some basic fossil fuel. I think you're about two decades too early to really deal with solar power right now."

"I suppose so." Belldandy agreed, and began to slowly take apart the model car she'd been building. That fact that she had to design and build a miniature car from the ground up, and present it at class, was starting to wear on her nerves. "You don't really know how lucky goddesses have it until you have to disassemble something by hand." The fact that it was her third time bothered her.

"Can't you just ask Keiichi for help?" Skuld asked, as she looked over her sister's plans. They were good, and actually very insightful, but, not yet made for the mortal realm.

"No Skuld, I can't." Belldandy said with a shake of her head. "This has to be my work, proof that I can actually do things without help." With that she looked at the clock, and nodded to herself. "Although, I should probably prepare dinner first."

Skuld nodded, and followed Belldandy into the kitchen. She was used to Skuld taking an interest in her hobbies, and even welcomed it on occasion, but now, she was a bit concerned. "Is there something on your mind?" She asked gently, pulling her long fawn hair into a neat bun to keep it out of the way while cooking.

"Hmm, not really." Skuld replied, looking away from her sister. "I was just thinking, since Urd went to go see her tutor up in heaven, what'll happen when it's time for you to take your next set of goddess courses?"

"That won't happen for a few thousand years at least. Those lectures are advanced though, and I highly doubt that I'll want to train for them, though I could if I desired. We've both completed our basic courses, and our advanced ones. Anything else we take falls under specialty training." Belldandy said then with a soft laugh, knowing that Skuld was still merely a basic trainee in many respects. "Who did Urd visit?"

"Aphrodite." Skuld said, before sighing. "I just don't get it, why do we have to be tutored by her?"

That caused Belldandy to blush deeply. "You got your letter, didn't you, Skuld?"

"Do I really have to go?" The young goddess asked.

"Well, it is getting to be that time." Belldandy said with a shrug, as she diced up some meat. "Even though you're the Norn of the future, and thus, suffer from a delayed aging pattern, you're still mature enough to start accepting guidance from older, more experienced goddesses." It was, in some ways, a rite of passage to receive a summons from the women of the court. "Trust me, you'll want their advice."

"Why?" The young Norn asked. "What's the big deal anyway?"

"Several reasons." Belldandy's cryptic reply was met with Skuld's questioning eyes. Dearly wishing Urd was around to help with this rather awkward discussion, Belldandy stayed quiet at first. Coming of age wasn't easy for most goddesses, and it wasn't something simple to speak about either. "Well, it'll help with your magical growth, and it'll also help you to make a strong bond with Noble Scarlet." Belldandy paused then, knowing someone just had to say it. "The truth is, young goddesses sometimes simply need a guiding hand."

"Did you spend a lot of time with Aphrodite?" Skuld asked then, to which Belldandy nodded.

"I've spent time with many elder goddesses, and you'll do the same." Then she offered a deprecating smile. "I'll admit, I don't often confide in Aphrodite, even though I did find her lectures to be insightful." After some thought on the matter, Belldandy pushed away a few of the more embarrassing memories that accompanied all goddess training. "Mind you, Aphrodite and I don't share in the same plight, so I never really sought to grow close to her like Urd did."

"I've heard some really weird stories about her." Skuld said then, crinkling her nose a bit. "Is it true, about what she'll do with her students?"

It was no secret, so Belldandy thought it best not to hide the truth. "When a goddess like yourself supports her angel, it's very important to find a strong love able to grant that goddess power. Some of the goddesses around your age tend to find that attachment in their tutors. Some of that attachment is sometimes sexual, but it doesn't have to be." She put the knife down that she was using to chop vegetables and offered Skuld a soft smile. "Aphrodite can be a great comfort, and she's very wise. She's also very willing to turn the other cheek, and that's why Urd trusts her so."

"Who did you like best as a tutor?" Skuld asked then, honestly interested.

Belldandy had to think hard on that one. There was one male tutor, with whom she used to be very close, but her mind still grew foggy when she thought at length about him. Deciding to disregard that, she focused on her female instructors, of which, she'd had many over the eons. "It may only be because I'm reserved by nature, and our tutors often touch upon very personal topics…but, I've always sought Minerva's help during difficult times. Although she's not the only one I rely on." With a cough, she recalled a few times when she sought help from Juno. "You'll find our tutors invaluable, Skuld, trust me."

The young goddesses merely nodded slowly, unsure of what to truly believe. Still, she knew she couldn't ignore a formal summons, and would eventually have to answer it with a formal reply, one that if done properly, would require Skuld to go to heaven and meet with Aphrodite face to face. Making up an excuse about looking over one of her newest ideas for an invention, Skuld went off to hide in her room.

Belldandy watched Skuld's retreat with just a hint of amusement. It made her remember her youth. She recalled her first formal summons to train under another female goddess. Aphrodite was a specialist when it came to communing with those around her, and communing with one's own angel. Such a thing made her sigh wistfully, as she let a hand rest over her heart, wondering if Holybell could really feel her deepest emotions even now.

It was around that time that Keiichi came in with a few bags of groceries, kissing Belldandy on the cheek as he passed by with his hands full. "Hi Belldandy." He said, opening the fridge to put the carton of milk away. "How did things go today?"

"Without incident." Belldandy said then, gesturing to her hand that had her bandaged fingertips. "How was class?"

"It got canceled so the auto club decided to run amok." Keiichi grumbled, shaking his head. "I had to put a new tire on the beamer, but you know how that goes."

"Sounds like you've had a busy day then." Belldandy replied, a slight concern in her voice. Keiichi did seem a bit tired, not to mention that his eyes had dark circles under them. "You would do well to rest tonight, I think." She offered, before looking around, noticing a missing ingredient. "You didn't happen to pick up any soy sauce, did you?"

"Of course I did." Keiichi smirked, pulling the bottle out of the bag as continued stocking the panty. "I also got a bottle of booze for Urd, and a pint of ice-cream for Skuld." The rest of the bag contained items that they were in dire need of. The next big shopping trip wouldn't be until payday, so they had to make expensive supplies last, but even so, he had to keep the household comfortable too. "Hopefully everything will stay calm until next week."

"That would indeed be a blessing." Belldandy replied. "I'll have to keep a better eye on what we keep in stock around here." She said with a gentle shrug. "I can't simply travel through mirrors anymore." A little bitter about that detail, and how often she took her travel medium for granted, she turned the cooking put down a few notches before putting rice into the cooker. "So, do you think we'll be able to finish our end of the year projects in time?"

"Mine is almost done." Keiichi said then, when he put the now empty grocery bags into the recycling bin. "Then again, I'd assume anyone could make a battery operated car like the one I've got." He shrugged it off. "I'm banking my grade on my thesis, and on my portfolio."

Belldandy gave him a questioning look. "I would have thought that you would put more effort into your end of the year project." She said to him, mildly surprised. "It does count for over thirty percent of our grade, correct?"

"The car is really only to show the applied learning." Keiichi said as she took a seat in a corner by the table, pulling out some of his materials. "That little thing won't help outside of school. What employers really look for is what classes you took, and how well those classes will apply to the job at hand." On the table in front of him, he had an empty three ring binder, and plenty of papers to sort. "All of these club photos and the plans we used to build the stuff we raced will come in handy. It proves that I can follow detailed plans correctly."

"I never thought of it like that." Belldandy said with a sigh as she came to the table, offering him a warm cup of tea, and a midafternoon snack. "In heaven, everything we learn is applicable to what our future will inevitably become." She found herself amused for not realizing it sooner. "We learn precisely what we need to, and very little else, unless we choose to. It never occurred to me that some classes would be irrelevant."

"Don't worry about it." He said partaking of one of the cookies on the plate. "You were one of the highest grades in the class on the last test, I don't think that will change much." He put away the binder that was on the table, and pulled out some brochures instead. "I picked these up from the club room. After graduation, we should go someplace, just you and me."

"A vacation?" Belldandy asked, looking at the small handful of folded pamphlets. She looked at him with a barely concealed hope in her eyes. "Can we really afford to go on one so soon after graduation?"

"I don't see why not." Keiichi shrugged. "Just pick wherever you'd like to go."

"Then, if it really is all the same to you, would it be alright if we visited a co-ed hot spring?" She couldn't keep the blush away from her cheeks, putting one hand over his. "We haven't had much time alone recently, and I would really like that." She wanted to kiss him, to feel his touch and know that he still wanted her.

It had always been a selfish desire of hers, that he would seek only her.

Now such a thing bubbled in the pit of doubt, and a slight fear took over, because she could not see into the greater emotions that would hue around life forms. She was now as blind as he was. As unseeing as every other mortal woman, and it frightened her to not understand his eyes. She swallowed hard, as she leaned in to kiss him, wishing to drown in his embrace, as she found that someplace within those desperate desires, her body answered in ways mysterious to her.

She wished beyond all reason that she could seek Bastet, Aphrodite, or even Juno to speak with at great length. She suspected, that if all else failed, she would have gone to her grandmother, Frigga, in tears and would have been given the answers to her worries. Yet, the heavens were not her place of guidance now, and she knew little about her new body…yet she could feel beyond all doubt, she needed this man.

The how's and why's of such a conclusion muddled in the vastness of her despair, because ever since she had become human, he had not touched her in such beseeching ways. She hadn't the confidence to ask why, but, she somehow found the courage, or perhaps it was pure insecurity, to unzip her dress before him.

Right there in the living room.

"Keiichi." She breathed his name as if it was the very air she needed to fill her lungs, as her palms went to his face to keep him from looking away. She knew that this plea would strike him like thunder. "I've yet to discern if this is indeed a blessing, but by the gods and goddesses who've granted me this fate, if it is damnation, I don't care." She kissed the man roughly on the lips again, in a fit of what she could only claim as terror, as she shrugged her dress off her shoulders. "Look at me, at what I am. Have I not been made into a satisfactory mortal? Am I no longer desirable?"

She appeared to him the same as she always seemed to, without her markings donning her face perhaps, but, she was still the woman he loved. At least in his eyes, she was still perfect to him. She hadn't changed, but this brazen side of her only came out in the worst of times, and he sighed, a few memories of Urd's meddling coming to mind. Yet, this was not such a time. He shook his head at the irony. "Do we really have to go through this?" He asked, seeing her deepest concerns come forth. She still had so much power over him, and she didn't even know it. "You're still a goddess to me, Bell."

"Then, why won't you touch me, Keiichi?" She asked him, tears at the edges of her eyes, threatening to spill over. "Why have you not sought to have me, as you once desired?"

"You're…um…a mortal Bell." He said closing his eyes, and swallowing hard. "When you were a goddess, we didn't have to worry about the consequences." He wondered how he got himself stuck in these situations. "I um, I don't really know why, but somehow, my gut told me that."

"What on earth are you talking about?" She pressed. "If something so concerns you, I simply must know."

He felt awkward, saying these things to her. "We're the same now, you know? So I figured that means we need to be prepared for that sort of thing." When she gave him a questioning look, he just shook his head. "I don't know how it is up in heaven, but, down here on earth, you know money plays a huge role in our lives." She raised an eyebrow at him, and he merely deflated, finding it hard to find the words. He would have to forgo delicacy. "We shouldn't raise a baby with part time jobs and minimum wage if we can help it." He said softly.

"I see." She felt foolish, as that idea had truly not come into her mind. "We must remain celibate."

"W-well I wouldn't go that far." He murmured, a heat rising to his cheeks. "I mean that is the only sure way not to um…" He shook his head, and sighed. Surely they were beyond this point of modesty, or he felt that they should be. He coughed and cleared his throat. "We can make love, just, not today."

She gathered her dress that was around her midriff. In heaven, children were a blessing, and no one thought otherwise. There was no currency to rule over the heavens in such heavy handed ways. It was so obvious to her now. Earth was not a place built upon blessings, and babies were not always ideal for their time. "There is no way for mortals to simply decide to have a child like a god can, is there?" In the heavens, a child was only granted based on the true desire to conceive from one or both parents. It wasn't the same here, and easily, she'd forgotten that.

"Not like that, no." He agreed, feeling so very glad she was covering herself back up, because as much as he was a respectful man, with only the best of intentions, even he wasn't perfect….and she was so very beautiful. "We have our ways, but they're not failsafe. If…if you want, I can, um…" He looked away, now feeling a bit more flustered than he ever imagined he'd be. "I'll buy some condoms when I get my next paycheck." He finally muttered.

"Keiichi that may very well be your undoing." Belldandy said a bit shyly. "The act, in and of itself, was intended to be a gift of the gods, so that mortals could have some of the power of creation within themselves. It would be wrong to deny the greater deities, as it is our very power that so grants the equilibrium needed to make humans able to sustain themselves." She looked away from him. "Maybe, I feel that way because of my original nature, but it is a gift, it should not be denied." In that, she had come to her decision. "Until you deem it the correct time, Keiichi, we should practice celibacy, as that was the intent of the immortals when we gave the mortals such a power."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_I'll say it, I was just a kid. As much as my sisters didn't want to admit it, we all were…in the eyes of heaven, we were merely children who seemed to lose our way. I now understand that every trial placed on our shoulders, were merely guiding hands. A way to test and strengthen our resolve. I see now, that the laws of heaven are much more complicated than we gave them credit for. They were unknown to us, because we were not the makers of the creeds, we merely uphold them._

_My time with my tutors gave me more insight than I care to admit, and, as a tutor myself, I now understand the importance of keeping my mouth shut. A seer's job is not to foretell the future, nor predict outcomes. That is merely an innate skill. Our true power lies within saying not what we desire, but, instead what we must. We have an immense power to see the unseen, and know our actions will influence our students. We know exactly what will happen, and, how it will happen._

_That means of course, that occasionally we must lead our pupils astray. They must not learn by what we see, but instead, they must understand by experience._

_This is why the heavens might seem cruel, because they even do such a thing. Even though it disregards its own teachings. That is to say, making Belldandy a human, leading Urd down a path of disillusionment, and my own lack of reason for being, was all merely a trial set before us, to make who we are today. Creation preordained it, and its peoples were taken in by the tides, swept into the seas of unknown factors._

_I didn't see it before, because back then, I just wasn't smart enough to do the math. My sisters and I were merely the variables to our own equations…our friends and family members merely pawns. We used them to play and live out our own stories._

_As the seer's gospel speaks;_

_There is no true evil to find deliverance from, but rather, doubt that clouds judgment and forthrightness. There is no greater good within creation, because to claim to be king of all, will lead into the ruins of none. Creation, and its peoples, are one single entity. One body and soul that must be protected and preserved, as it was intended. Each individual is merely a nothingness that builds everything, by birthing newness into the old. We invent, and we create, because we are the creation that we so value. To the creation we accept that its power is unknown, and we offer our complete highest praise. Together, as one, we make the higher powers that be, unified in our voices that echo through the eons. When everything harmonizes as one within the individual souls, we are remade in creation's image._

_Thus is the way of creation._

_Skuld, the book keeper. Norn of the future. Goddess first class, specialization foresight, unlimited license._

"I still don't understand why I have to do this…" Skuld muttered, sitting at the table across form her sister, refusing to go to the heavens. She received her second notice and had tried to hide it under her futon. Scrunched in the mattress, Belldandy had found it while doing the cleaning. "Can't I wait for a different goddess to summon me?" Skuld asked as Belldandy sighed.

"Skuld, you need to learn how to commune with your angel. Before you do anything else, it is a major priority." Belldandy explained as she rested her aching head in her palm, truth be told, she wasn't feeling well. "Aphrodite is a wonderful tutor in that respect. I can't force you to go, but I would implore that you do. It is for the best."

"Maybe in a few years." Skuld shrugged. "I just don't want to deal with her right now."

"Skuld, if you don't talk to Aphrodite, you won't grow strong." Belldandy couldn't exactly pinpoint a complaint, but she was feeling off, and with a soft sigh, she excused herself from the table, feeling the need to go hide in the bathroom. Belldandy knew mortal women sometimes suffered during menstruation, but she hadn't accounted for just how much.

For the first time in her life, she was actually thankful that Urd liked to concoct some of the most seemingly inane potions known to the heavens, because one of them worked well as an effective painkiller…now if she could only do something about the bloated feeling in her gut, she'd be much better off. Running cold water into the sink, she splashed it onto her face before a knock came three times, Urd's signature one at that.

"You feeling okay?" The eldest sister asked, looking on in concern. Her sister seemed rather ill, even if that wasn't entirely the case. "I can always mix something else up, if you'd like."

Belldandy declined. "I wish it were that easy, but according to the history lessons of old, it's meant to be this way."

"Who told you that tripe?" Urd groused, crossing her arms and leaning on the doorframe.

"Urd, I'm fine, really." Belldandy said as she dried off her face and meandered into the kitchen for some iced tea, Urd seeming to follow suit. "To be honest, I'm more concerned about Skuld refusing to go to heaven."

"I thought about that…" Urd nodded. "What is it now, her second one?"

"Her first from the war administration, a request from Lind to try out in the recruitment program…it was her second notice from Aphrodite." Belldandy explained, none too happy about her younger sister's desire to go against the whims of her tutors. They would mean the young goddess no harm, and open her eyes to a much greater creation than Skuld would ever deem possible. "Perhaps you should give Frigga a call, maybe she can convince Skuld to go up."

"No need, I've already asked Aphrodite to come here." Urd said then, sipping on her tea conspiratorially. "What is it about my little sisters trying to avoid Aphrodite? Is the big bad goddess really so terrifying?" Urd chuckled.

"She isn't that bad." Belldandy said with a shake of her head. "Yet, she is an intimidation, I'll give her that."

"Especially to a young goddess who'd never thought she'd be sought out by the great goddess of the night." Urd quipped, knowing that Aphrodite was a bit more liberal with her students than some of the others, but she was highly respected and recommended, despite her name. "You warmed up to her, eventually. I think Skuld will too. It'll just take time."

"Do you really think so?" Belldandy asked, seeming more like a worried mother hen, than an older sister.

"If there's one thing about you and Skuld that's the same, it's that you both lean heavily on the side of caution." Urd shrugged, not particularly bothered by it. She knew the youngest of the family could easily fend for herself. "She's just more aggressive about it…but, Aphrodite's an old pro. She'll get Skuld to see things her way."

"When will she be coming by?" Belldandy asked then, wondering when to expect their heavenly visitor.

Urd just shrugged. "Whenever she feels like it, I'm not her keeper."

"You could have just taken Skuld to heaven with you." Belldandy said, giving Urd a searching look.

"I could have, but, Skuld isn't the only one who could use a chat with her old mentor." Urd left it at that, making her way out of the room, before giving her younger sister a sideways glance, pulling a bottle of pills out from what seemed to be thin air. "Oh, and Belldandy…these are made for a woman on the red, give them a try."

Belldandy didn't bother to comment on Urd's need for meddling, but took comfort in it anyway. Even if she did tend to bend the rules, or outright break them, it was normally all for the good of her sisters, at least usually. Instead, she decided to make a shopping list, she would need a few things from the store if she hoped to make a dinner fit for a goddess of the pantheon.

…

"Trouble in paradise, huh bro?" Megumi laughed as she nursed a beer at the local pub. For the first time in several weeks, she was finally able to pry him from his household chores and his studies. She knew he had to have been having a hard time of things, because quite frankly, he looked frazzled. Tired beyond belief, he couldn't very well keep his eyes open in his morning classes. "Is Belldandy still home sick with the flu?"

He nodded weakly, happy everyone had bought the lie without question, though they were all more than a little worried. It was strange to many, as Belldandy rarely ever took time off of class. "Yeah, she's doing a little bit better, but the headache is killing her, and yesterday, she refused to eat anything." He shrugged away the sense of foreboding and bubbling in his gut. "I'm of no help either. Nothing I can do about it, expect wait things out." He offered, which only caused his sister to take a long swig of her beer in return. "She's been having a rough time of it recently."

They were closer than close, in more ways than one…the kind of siblings that did everything from eating dinner to taking baths together, back when they were still children. They had the same friends, and the same taste in music. He also ended up sharing a room with her, and that meant they never really had any sort of privacy, not even as teenagers. In her youth, she would borrow his shirts and his pajamas, and he often wondered if her tomboy nature wasn't something more.

One day, back when they were still in high school, he'd actually asked her about that, which, as he remembered vividly, earned him a good strong punch to the side of his face. Perhaps that was why his sister could so easily read into him, they were more like twins, rather than anything else. They were both mindful of each other, now that they were older, and turned the other cheek, most of the time.

Megumi popped a few nuts into her mouth, just for something to do, and then she considered the way he looked. Bedraggled and as if he had been ran over by a car. "So have you, you look like hell." Megumi said then. She didn't buy his story that it was just a flu. "I don't know what you guys do over there, things get pretty weird sometimes."

"Yeah, well that's family for you." He said, shrugging off her concern. "Belldandy was a package deal, not that I mind." He downed the rest of his beer and put a few bills onto the counter as a tip.

"What self-respecting guy would?" She asked him honestly. He didn't say anything, and merely gave her a clueless look. It forced her to roll her eyes in return. "Just make sure you take care of yourselves." She told him, truly concerned. "If you ever need anything, you should stop by the apartment."

"Don't worry Meg, things are basically normal…maybe they're too normal." He gave her a lopsided smirk. "I think Urd and Skuld are going to have a really big blowout eventually, but that's normal too, so it's no big deal."

"Uh-huh." Megumi nodded, a bit skeptical. "Whatever you say. Just be safe on the way home."

…

"I don't care what the two of you do, but leave her to me." Aphrodite said as she talked with Urd and Belldandy at the living room table. "I don't want you anywhere near the little lady. She's willful enough, and I can't have her thinking she can shy away from me." She sipped on some tea, and offered Belldandy a reassuring smile. "She isn't going to emulate you, of that, I'm sure."

A distant memory of hiding demurely behind her older sister came to mind. Belldandy remembered quite well how shy she could be as a young goddess, and even though she had spoken to Minerva first and had made a strong bond with the woman, she couldn't avoid Aphrodite forever. Though, it had taken quite a bit of coaxing from her older sister before she even considered coming out from her locked bedroom door. It had been a very trying time for her back then…

As it was around that time that she'd lost her first, and only male tutor…

She shook away the memory, least it take hold and turn unpleasant. "I think this is a little rash." Belldandy finally settled on saying, though she felt completely out of place, her position in this world not lost on her. "I have always been under the impression that a seer would take her first."

"She has problems really communicating with Noble Scarlet." Aphrodite said slowly. "I believe that Hera and several others will become fine tutors for Skuld later, and it's already decided that the seer's will take great joy in training Skuld. However, it's moot if she can't commune properly." It was then that she gave a glance to the locked door, and the tinkering coming from within. "I firmly believe that between Bastet and myself, she will take comfort in our methods."

Belldandy cleared her throat at that. "Not that I'm trying to adamantly disagree, but, it may not be so easy. Skuld's not exactly fond of being reminded of just how young she really is." Belldandy explained a bit shyly. "Add that detail along with the fact that you're both very well-endowed women, who prefer to be scantily clad, and I fear the worst of Skuld."

"Her issues with her own self-image is quite apparent." Bastet agreed, considering that with a fondness that the younger goddesses at the table would never be able to interpret. Aphrodite shared in the good humor though, after a nod from the blood, she continued. "Skuld would benefit deeply from Our training right now. She is a wet clay that needs to be molded. She should find her inner beauty, and flaunt it, because she has a great deal of it."

"Speaking of that, Keiichi is coming home soon." Urd said then, a concern for the mortal man coming to surface. "Don't you two think you should cover up, just a little bit?"

"That's true as well." Belldandy agreed, a tiny blush on her cheeks at that, thinking of what he might say to the sight of the tea room. "He's an oddly prudish specimen, especially when it comes to the male species."

"I'm as covered as I need to be." Bastet replied, though the dress she was wearing started just below her ample breasts, and continued onward, in long flowing silks. Aphrodite's attire was also lacking, as it was merely one of her silken sheets, tied around herself, and it was thin enough to be entirely see through in the afternoon light. It was so thin, in fact, it couldn't even be called a toga.

"Come now, Bastet. We don't want to give the poor boy a heart attack. From what I've heard from little Urd, he'll be petrified as it is, with two strange goddesses loafing about." Thankfully, Aphrodite was the voice of reason. With measured grace, she turned her silken cloth into a fully flowing dress, covering enough of herself to appear tasteful. "There now, if I can wear this, surely you can do something, now can't you?"

"I'm a woman, not to mention a deity, and I certainly don't intend to bow down to a mere mortal's beliefs." Still, she could admit, she'd give the poor man a fright, and settled with amending her form into a large but beautiful black cat…her looming size not unlike that of a panther even if she was a bit more slender. It was how she usually appeared in court, and her golden jewelry contrasted sharply with her pure black coat of fur. "There now, surely this won't startle him."

Belldandy and Urd shared a look, and both nodded in silent agreement, though it was Urd who spoke. "Chances are, he'll freak out even more."

"Well, that can't be helped." The Egyptian goddess replied with a flick of her tail. "If it so helps him, I'll purr really sweetly into his ear and calm the boy."

"Or kill him." Urd smirked. "I can't wait to see that."

"Urd!" Belldandy chastised, looking between the three goddesses, feeling entirely inferior. "Please be careful, Bastet, you know not of Keiichi's fragility. He's a very strong willed man, in several respects, but he's indeed very modest."

"Well then, this should be fun." The catlike goddess replied, stretching out lazily.

Aphrodite just shook her head with a sigh, disregarding her good friend. "Belldandy, if I may have a few words alone with you?" She asked, standing from her place. "Walk with me, if you would."

It was not a request, Belldandy knew the woman better than that. Her tutors were all very commanding in their own way, though, they were cordial and friendly as well. She stood and followed behind Aphrodite, even as the two left in the room prattled on about some new potion that was all the rage in heaven. The mortal could only feel totally and completely awed by Aphrodite, as she was a deity who was praised even by goddesses.

Belldandy dared not speak, waiting to be addressed, as was their usual routine. They walked through the shrine's main entrance and into the wooded area, where Aphrodite came to a halt, leaning on a particularly favored tree. It housed plenty of wildlife. "Belldandy, daughter of Tyr, I fear that Skuld should not be your concern right now. Frankly put, she's of the heavens, and you're simply not. At least, not in your current form."

"I'm still her sister." Belldandy murmured quietly, feeling thoroughly chastised.

"Don't misunderstand me, Bell." Aphrodite told her quietly. "Your mother and father worry for you. Your grandparents pace the halls with unease, because they cannot be here when you need them most." She pushed herself from the tree, taking Belldandy's hands I to her own. "I fully believe this will be an experience that will be good for you, but many believe otherwise. They doubt because you doubt, they feel it so deeply, and they love you too much to watch you suffer."

"Mortals doubt." Belldandy said quietly. "I have never felt so conflicted in all of my life. So full of happiness, and so full of fear." She turned away, unable to look such a heavenly being in the eyes with such confessions, wondering how on earth Keiichi could do that for so long, knowing what he knew. "I've never felt so inept in all of my life. Never have I ever felt so utterly worthless, as I feel that I am in this form."

"Indeed." Aphrodite agreed. "If I may be so bold, I'm sure you know that once, it was acceptable for goddesses to bed down with mortals." Then, she stifled a laugh. "Well, perhaps not acceptable, but neither the judgment gate, nor the doublet system had been introduced…so, we were free to frolic with whom we wished." Such a thing amused her now. "Needless to say, I shared such lovely times with mortals. They have a particular charm about them, you know."

"I didn't realize." Belldandy remarked, surprised that Aphrodite was so forthcoming about the taboo of the past. "You with a mortal man? Most gods stutter over you, I doubt a mortal could even bespeak your name without blushing if they gaze upon the form in which you take." Truth be told, even Belldandy found Aphrodite a sight to behold, even if she wasn't inclined to the fairer sex. "Even I am humbled by you, despite my reserved inaction to your siren's call."

Aphrodite was simply that breathtakingly beautiful, her voice a purity laced with a wealth of deep passion. Her personality was as comforting and as whimsical as the sea itself, gentle, but oh so very deadly when horribly scorned. "Oh, but my dear, I have tall tales of my exploits." Aphrodite became distant then, a warmth in her eyes as she recalled a now far away past. "Anchises was a herder of sheep. The member of a junior branch family, to the royal family at the time." She said, the lilt in her voice gifting only fondness. "He was a sire of Aeneas. It was my vanity that so enamored me to bear Anchises a son, but it was that selfsame urge that the heavens found strange." Aphrodite explained. "Though I myself have never been mortal, Belldandy, I understand their plights well…as I had to do so for the sake of the mortals I birthed."

"Was your son not half god?" Belldandy asked.

"Even half mortals are much more a mortal than a god, child." Aphrodite replied. "Why, merely look at Zeus's boy, Hercules, for another example." It was rare to see half beings anymore, so she didn't fault Belldandy for her lack in understanding. As much of the stories foretold, they were not within Belldandy's grasp. "Half mortals don't have the same power at their disposal, and, must work much harder to utilize what little they have. It by no means makes them weak, but, it also offers very little in the way of comfort."

"Well, I must admit, I've found no solace in recent days." Belldandy said sadly, feeling as if now may be her only chance to glean insight from this woman. "I feel so confused, as this form doesn't allow me to understand the greatness of the world. I can't be one with it, as I used to be."

"I tend to think you'll struggle in such ways." As goddess, she was an expert at guiding the youth, but, she knew nothing of human difficulties, not really. Yet she accepted their trials all the same. "You are so powerful, because of the love you have for others, and the love that is bestowed onto you in return. I believe that power can manifest in a human soul as well. Maybe not as magic, but as something equally powerful."

"Maybe, knowing Keiichi the way that I do, I wouldn't doubt it." She said then softly, feeling so overwhelmed. "There are so many complications here, so many things I didn't put into perspective." Tears that she had no explanation for began to fall gently from her eyes, and she breathed a shaky breath. "Look at me, being reduced to this. Yet, even as I am, I fail to regret it. Doesn't that make me so horrible, that I would choose one man, over all of creation?"

"This reminds me of a conversation from long ago." Aphrodite replied wistfully. "When you were selected to receive tutoring, you were much younger than the usual candidates. You were not yet ready to be off the hip in many respects, and yet, Odin pushed for Tyr to insist you begin your tutelage, even before Urd began hers." It made her chuckle fondly. "Oh, the uproar that caused was nothing short of astounding. I remember that, because, there was a high ranking, yet young god, who'd never taken a student. He insisted that he could turn you into fine, upstanding goddess. Many seemed hesitant to train you at that time."

"How so?" Belldandy wondered, thinking that maybe she and Urd weren't so different…yet, Aphrodite's distant gaze confused her.

"Well, Celestine had many ideals that we as council didn't agree with, but he was right about one thing." Aphrodite laughed. "You were then, and always have been, a gentle soul. You've always been very quick to feel the emotions well up from deep inside." She took Belldandy into her arms, a motherly gesture and little more. "He would report that you were always so quick to cry, and he feared greatly for you…that you would see an unjust world, and be broken by such a sight." Seeing Belldandy as a young woman, albeit human now, seemed little more than amusing. "You would have surprised him. Oh little Belldandy, if only he could see you, as you are now."

To be reminded of her youth, to be called that name, to be told she was still a child in the grand universe, gave her an immense comfort she couldn't voice. She was still little more than a young soul of creation, she had eons yet to grow. Belldandy was merely old enough now to feel a deep, romantic love, but her mind still had so much to reach for, so much to glean insight from.

To begin to understand what this woman spoke of during her lessons, it had driven Belldandy nearly insane, but she felt warmth as a human. A happiness within, that cradled fear, and even if the action felt out of place, she wrapped her arms around Aphrodite, weeping into her shoulder. It was nice, to at least receive some form of blessing.

…

Home, if it could be called that, was full of ruckus when Keiichi returned. He'd no sooner as he stepped foot into the shrine, as he was being ushered right back out again.

"She wants us to get out, so we're getting out before she beats us over the head with that damn broom." Urd said as she pushed Keiichi out of the front door, bags packed, and slung over him haphazardly. "Besides, the hotel has an indoor pool and room service, I'm not passing that up. You two even get your own room, so don't bitch."

"I-I'm not complaining." He said then, still confused by the events, though he was used to inexplicable things by this point in his life. "I don't think anyone would pass up a free place to kick back and relax, but, shouldn't Skuld be going with us?"

"It's a goddess thing, and you aren't the only one who doesn't belong here right now." She gave her sister a saddened look, then shoved Keiichi again for good measure. "Now go on ahead and get out of here. I'll be coming with you guys once I'm sure Skuld isn't going to blow a gasket."

"Out!" Aphrodite replied to the eldest Norn, broom in hand as she batted the young one ones away. "I said everyone Urd, and I mean it, scoot." She implored, with a sigh, as if she was a mother hen chasing off her little chicks. "Go on, skedaddle!"

"You heard the woman." Bastet replied from her place on the roof, still in the form of a huge and deadly black cat. "She's not even letting me in the house, and I'm one of the tutors that Skuld's to be taking lessons from."

"For the last time, you are too forthcoming." Aphrodite said with her hands on her hips, as her weapon of choice floated indignantly beside her. "That attitude may work well with Hild and Peorth, but it won't do the slightest bit of good with Skuld."

"You say that, but Anzasu was just as difficult. Arguably, more so, considering how often we would catch her playing around with Hild." Bastet replied, not particularly minding one way or the other, since she knew Aphrodite always insisted to have her own way about things. It was simply easier to go with the flow. "She is her mother's daughter, and as I recall, Anzasu was strictly my student, not yours."

"It may just come to that yet." Aphrodite replied. "And if it does, we'll do things your way, but I don't believe that's the case." She turned to those she proclaimed to be children, and offered them a smile. "Now listen, we've been looking after your family ever since Odin's firstborn, and creation knows we used to pamper _both_ of your mother's behinds when they were little. Truth be told, I think I have more than enough stories of infant demons to last me for the rest of my days."

Bastet agreed dryly. "She's right you know…and that says nothing about you two." She said, giving Urd a pointed glance. "You are indeed your mother's child though you so utterly refuse it." She said with a shake of her head. "We can handle Skuld." She flicked her tail again. "Go, and worry not. Trust us, and we will do right by Skuld, and by you. I promise."

The group left, of course…but it was much less because of Bastet's insistence, and more due to the fact that Aphrodite was all too willing to beat them in the butt with her broom, should they disobey.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: It's summer time, so updates on all stories are going to slow up, as is the tradition in my life. We just opened the pool, the kids are out of school, Metro Detroit Pride is this weekend, and I'm going camping soon. With all of that said, and the weekly BBQ's my family has during summer, you can see why I don't have the time I usually do...anyway, here's chapter 8.

**Chapter 8**

_I used to believe that goddesses and demons were different. Opposed in the way they thought, the way they acted, and even within themselves…it all seemed so, angry and blind to me. So vengeful, and little more than spite. A large part of my…discrimination…shall we say, came from my disapproval of my mother. It was conflicted, I'll admit. Still, funny enough, I don't regret that anger…but, it is, inherently, what made me a demon._

_I think, Hild knew, that if I harbored anger for too long, I would become the very thing I so judged. She doesn't say it, but, I think she resents that I became a demon. I do too. I hate it too, but, it is what I am, now. I used to say that I had pride as a goddess, and that I was devout to the heavens. I used to chant that it was because of my beliefs, that those were the reasons why I could never acknowledge Hild…but, one time, I had to help her._

_Ironically enough, I called her what she was to me. My mother…I was almost afraid for her…and that's when I realized I wouldn't be pulled over to the other side by loving her. Belldandy and Keiichi had gone through so much together, and yet, I was the one alone. I was afraid to love, and be judged. When I spoke at length with Aphrodite, it…made sense to me, but, it wasn't a comfort. It was as if I was stuck in some sort of horrible dream._

_Despite that, I came to one very distinct conclusion._

_I didn't hate my mother…I hated what she wasn't strong enough to do. She failed, and she lost the one she loved because of it, and damn her, she still brought me into creation with a broken family. Belldandy and Keiichi walked through the gate together…Hild and Tyr, my mother and father…they didn't. They stepped through, and were torn from each other. I wasn't okay with that, I couldn't agree with it._

_...I couldn't understand it._

_With Belldandy as mortal, and Skuld finding herself being forced into tutoring, I was lonely. I've always been a little lonely, but it was tolerable. With my family making a ruckus, I never had the time to really dwell on things. Without Holybell around for World of Elegance to talk to, and Belldandy lost in her own set of problems that I knew nothing about, a wall inside of me shattered, in a way I never thought it could._

_As the teachings say;_

_Hell is not a place founded by sin, but rather, the sinners who know of nothing else than desire._

_Urd, protector of the well. Norn of the past. Demon first class, heir to the onyx throne._

The demon wasn't stupid, she could sense elder goddesses from a safe distance, and knew better than to approach them. Instead, she merely sat in the tree, hiding away from suspecting eyes, though she was clever enough to suspect that they already knew she was there. Still, out of sight, out of mind, as the saying went…also out of the way of a goddess's defensive magic.

When the group left, she tailed them, and when they arrived at the hotel, she waited for a few solid hours before making herself known to the lone woman in a single bed room. "What's got you all pissy?" Mara grumbled in her normally gravely voice. She gazed on at the goddess who should have been her enemy. In truth, they really didn't hate each other, even if it seemed that way. "You've been cooped up in here since you arrived."

"Nothing." Urd shook it off, producing a deck of cards out of thin air. "Don't worry about it, ready for me to kick your ass again?"

Mara squinted. "There are elder goddesses in your house." The demon said pointedly, with a confused expression. "Don't you think you should do something about that…maybe see why they're freeloading?"

"They're here to talk to Skuld." Urd told her, but didn't give Mara the time to investigate. "Now, are we going play some cards, or aren't we?"

"Who says I'm not here to fill my quota for the month?" Mara asked, crossing her arms, floating indignantly in the air. "For all you know, my shares have lowered, and I'm here to raise them back up again."

"You aren't that stupid." Urd tipped back some sake, and then handed Mara the bottle. "Besides, we both know the real reason you loiter around. It isn't so much to spread misfortune, than it is to keep an eye on me."

Mara shrugged. "She worries." That was all she would offer Urd, but it was enough of an admission.

"She can find someone else to torment." Urd bit out. "I don't need her sticking her nose into my life. I've been fine without her for a long time."

"Maybe, but she's still family." Mara said then, but Urd's expression didn't change, and she realized she was playing a dangerous game. "She's your mom, Urd, how long are ya gunna keep acting like you don't give a damn?"

"Does it really matter?" This was getting tense, too tense for her own liking, and Urd took a careful drink of alcohol, letting Mara's gaze simmer over her like boiling water. "How about a real game for a change?"

"Depends…" Mara felt a pang of interest, and dared to ask what she knew better than to trifle with. Still, Urd amused her all the same. "What kind of game you have in mind?"

"Something more valuable than money." Urd said, wagging the deck of cards. "A game of secrets. I win a round, I can ask you anything I want…if you win, you can ask anything you want."

"Who's to say we wouldn't be lying?" Mara quarried then, as Urd held out two tablets. "Those are interrogation tablets!"

"My mother's not the only one who can make them…and you know just as well as I do, you can't lie after one of these." Urd made them often, and kept them on hand, but, she never really saw a need. She had never really tested them out either. "I think it might be fun, make the game more of a challenge."

Mara licked her lips, and took one of the tiny pills in hand. "No clandestine information?" Mara asked before taking it.

"No questions that'll get us in deep trouble with you know who." Urd nodded then, all while pointing to the heavens. She knew Mara wouldn't dare provoke Hild's ire either, and the two of them agreed. Yet, before Mara actually swallowed the pill, she paused. Urd sent her a prying glance. "What's wrong now, demon? Don't have the guts?"

"Is this what we've been reduced too?" Mara asked. "No one's in here but us. It's time to drop the god damned act." Mara knew the game well, and they played it expertly, but there weren't any goddesses around to see them now. "Who the hell's gunna know what we say to each other right now?"

"They have ears everywhere, you know that." Urd said then, in a quiet voice.

"So, what…we can't talk because heaven's got some weird thing against you? Heavens forbid you from saying something real for once?" Mara asked her. Angry, but cold, the words seemed to linger thickly in the room. "You really need to hide behind interrogation pills as an excuse to say the truth?"

"As if you'd know anything about that." Urd replied with dark amusement. "You lie just as much as I do."

"Not like this, I don't." Mara groused. "I don't lie when there's nothing to lie about."

"There's always something to lie about." Urd said after a moment had ticked by, unrelentingly. "It's all a question of what can be gained."

…

The hotel was modern, and their room was high enough to overlook a scenic view. It was the softest sigh that fell from Belldandy's lips, wistful, as she gazed at the university in the distance. Her mind had been dancing in thought, wondering more about earth and its hidden complexities. "Keiichi…" She said nervously, as he lifted his eyes from his book. "Do mortals so often struggle, when it comes to finding their own path?" She asked him.

"I don't really know. I guess..." He said, closing the tome and setting it off to the side. "Why, what's up?"

"Merely thinking." She told him in a soft laugh. "Watching the university in the distance, and wondering if a woman considers her happiness the same here, as she would as a goddess." The air was cool, but still, she left the window open to caress the drapes that she pulled apart. "This might come as a shock to you, but, in the heavens, we have a calling. That calling bespeaks our reason for being, and we're never to question it." Pulling her lower lip between her teeth, she found herself leaning into his embrace, when he had come to hold her. "It seems as if I can't find mine." She explained.

"I guess that just means you're free to do whatever you want." He laughed a little. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Truthfully, it would be easier to be told what my path is." She said, turning to him. "Minerva once told me I would wed a forthright god, who would be sure to guide me to a much higher enlightenment than I myself could reach." Her voice grew a little soft then. "I'm sure, when my father offered for you to become a god, it was because he saw that future coming true, and he dearly wished for me to get married young." It might have seemed unfortunate to her father, but she would never really know. "This wasn't written in the stars, Keiichi. I'm sure the heavens are baffled, just as I am."

"You'll be a goddess again one day." Keiichi said, with that gentle reminder echoing into him. He was happy she couldn't tell how bothered he really was by that, because truth be told, such a thing worried him. "It sounds like Minerva knows what she was talking about. You put such faith in the heavens, it's got to come true at some point."

"A god would tell me of his expectations." She told Keiichi, putting her hand over his. "He would be a high ranking member, surely, maybe even one several eons older than some cases, he may even have more than one wife, or, perhaps no wives at all...merely mistresses." She smiled a bit sadly then. "I can't tell you how many offerings I received to be little more than a consort for the war gods of the council." She held him just as tightly as he held her…the wordless acceptance of her admissions a great weight off of her chest. "You were the first male, of any species, to ask me to remain with you under no pretense."

"That's a little hard to believe Bell." He told her, chuckling softly. "I'm sure that wasn't the case."

"I speak only truth." She said to him. "You didn't ask me to be your concubine. You didn't desire a higher place of stature among the heavens, nor sought me as merely a tool in which to gain a strong heir…" She had been so thankful to hear his words…to know that he wanted her, without anything hidden beneath his words. "I have received many offerings from both male and female immortals, heavenly and unholy alike…you are the only one to ask me plainly, a mere fleeting few words and little more."

"There was more back then." He told her, his brown eyes looking up at her, his breath caught by her beauty. "There's more now, too."

She shook her head at him, taking his humor as the gentle admonishment that it was. Surely she knew she was being silly, but, it was him that had earned her favor. It was this man now, that she so wished to please, because his joy meant so very much to her…of course, it helped that he did his utmost to return the gift of happiness to others, if it was within his power to do so. "Eons of training are a hard to break, and I still know nothing of what you expect from me, as you've never placed any demands upon me…"

"Demands, huh?" He felt awkward about that, because he was not such the type. It never occurred to him to think that way, unless under necessity of reason. However, Belldandy was never one that he needed to implore, because she was never the cause for trouble. Thinking of how to put demands on her seemed wrong, and ill fitting, even if she so begged for some type of guidance. "Okay, have dinner with me at the harbor tonight."

"Keiichi, really…" She chastised with a laugh, ever so thankful that he'd taken her likely silly worries upon himself with such stride, he seemed nonplused about them. "I know it is not within your nature, but I wonder about it anyway. What do you require of me as a woman? What shall I expect in our future together? I know you have made thoughts about it. After all, it is the will of mankind to determine such a path, and set forth to gain those goals."

"We're going to get married one day." He told her, as he now stood next to her looking out of the window. "When I finally attain my master's degree, I'll be able to support a family the way my father did for Megumi and I." The memories were so clear to him, as that was the image he'd wanted ever since he was a boy. "Don't tell him I called him that, or he'll flip his lid…but the truth is, my dad was the only provider until Megumi and I were teenagers. Before that, mom was a full time parent. Even then, she's an artisan, I wouldn't say she calls working with glass a job. It's more like a passion."

"Is that what you desire, Keiichi?" She asked him. "That I would become like she is?"

"Whatever works, I guess." He shrugged. "I'll be fine with whatever happens, as long as it's for the best."

"Then, would you mind terribly if I stopped university and worked alongside of Chihiro after graduation?" She asked him, feeling out of place for such a request. "I feel as if university can't possibly teach me the skills in which I lack, but perhaps, if I spent more time with other women, I may grow to understand my position in all of this."

He agreed, of course, as that was just the type of man that he was, and with a kiss, he then insisted on dinner, and to get out of the small room that they would call home for the next few days. She wondered just what sort of future would greet them, a mortal's need for urgency falling over her. Yet, his eyes were nothing but peaceful. The gentleness in his brown eyed stare telling her that it was okay to breathe in the crisp evening air with that selfsame calm.

Belldandy was sure that if magic existed among mortals, it was the kind unseen, and not at all tangible, and yet, entirely felt within the soul. She wondered then, even if only in passing, if that too, was it's own deep well of power. One so strong, it dictated the flow of mankind.

…

Aphrodite had planned everything perfectly, right down to the plethora of sweets that had donned the table, a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds. She was careful to appeal to Skuld's nature, choosing for the goddess a sweet wine, light and airy. She also saw fit to provide plenty of decadent treats in which to choose from, including an ice-cream cake, of which, she had prepared with precision. Aphrodite was not known for her cooking, as that was best left to other domestic goddesses as far as Aphrodite was concerned. Yet, even so, she was no slouch among womanly tasks...and, as she often bespoke, there was no greater power over any man, than a her ability to appeal to their hunger...in all forms.

"What's all this for?" Skuld had asked with an upraised eyebrow, as she was seated in front of all of the food.

"Girl talk." Aphrodite had replied without thinking twice, merely cutting into the multiple layers of ice-cream, frosting, and the best cake she could make.

"Girl talk?" The words seemed like a trap when the apprehensive and youthful goddess spoke them. "Why?"

"Well, I just thought it might be a nice idea." Aphrodite shrugged. "We are to be teacher and student, after all." She sipped on her wine, not paying the scorn any mind. That, would have to come later…her first task, as with all of the goddess she so trained, was to befriend them. If she couldn't do that much, then she refused to tutor them. It was a personal rule of hers, and, it came natural to the types of things she thought. Absolute trust and complete vows of confidence were required to teach her pupils subjects of her expertise. "I'm sure I gave you my card, but, just so that the ugly formalities are well out of the way, here it is again." She said, handing the girl another.

Skuld accepted it with the expected hesitance, and even a bit of skepticism. "Aphrodite, goddess first class, specialization interpersonal arts and communion." Skuld read aloud, looking up from the tiny rectangle of paper. "Isn't that kind of convoluted?"

"My, my…you are indeed of Anzasu's womb." Aphrodite smiled at the girl. "Wouldn't you know it, Belldandy said the same thing…although she was more pleasant about it, inquiring what such a long title actually meant." She took a drink from her wine glass, and then a strawberry from the silver dish to compliment the flavor. "That's merely the branch of heaven that a goddess like myself oversees, but I find the name to be void of any true expression."

"So, basically it's a nice way of saying you sleep around." Skuld accused, wondering why she couldn't just crawl under a bed and hide. "That's great."

"I have a gaggle of children, to be sure, and not all of them share the same father." She was honest in her approach as she studied the girl foretold to be her pupil. "Some goddesses choose to incline themselves to several, and others choose monogamy. It is up to you to decide what's best for you, but I quite like my lifestyle, no matter what discord it may bring to others."

"I didn't think you would." Skuld said quietly, a bit disgusted by that.

The goddess turned to Skuld. "My job isn't to take you to my bed, Skuld." Aphrodite chuckled then. "It's to help you understand the desires within your own heart." As she sipped on her wine again, she saw the girl turning sheepish. "I merely wish to help you understand them. In order to commune properly with an angel, a goddess must be able to see into her own desires, and explore them with her soul, thusly, her angel." Then she offered a soft smirk. "Yours is young, just a baby really, and she'll act out Skuld. An angel isn't often inclined to think of the consequences for an action. That's a goddesses job."

"Why does it have to be you?" Skuld pressed then. "Why can't it be some other goddess?"

The question was so abrasive, it reminded Aphrodite of a very defensive Urd, back several eons ago. Yet, she doubted Skuld would actually have the gull to start a devilish food fight just as Urd had. "You'll be a tough cookie I see." Aphrodite said with a hint of a smirk. "I think you'll grow to like me. I know that both Urd and Belldandy were just as unhappy at first. However, I believe that comes with the territory." Without a warning, she put her hand to Skuld's back, summoning the young angel without warning. Feathers went flying as she yanked a rather juvenile creature from the back of her owner.

She no sooner tethered the young defenseless angel to her very being, that she looked the Skuld in the eye. "You are very beautiful, Skuld, and your angel reflects that. You are of age now, your journey to adulthood is complete, but, your ascension to enlightenment has only just begun." She could tell Noble Scarlet was just as unhappy from being parted from her master and left on display, as Skuld was about having being torn from the angel. Aphrodite merely giggled, patting the childlike deity on the head. "Over the eons you and your angel will slowly merge, until one day, your body and soul are truly one in every thought, every display of action, and every power you share. Then you will be like me, and other elder goddesses, a truly divine being." She let go of the young angle, and Noble Scarlet wasted no time ducking back into Skuld, hiding from the powerful woman in front of her. "You will then be one truly merged entity."


End file.
